Dataset Information

Perceptions of, attitudes towards and barriers to male involvement in newborn care in rural Ghana, West Africa: a qualitative analysis.

ABSTRACT: Male involvement in various health practices is recognized as an important factor in improving maternal and child health outcomes. Male involvement interventions involve men in a variety of ways, at varying levels of inclusion and use a range of outcome measures. There is little agreement on how male involvement should be measured and some authors contend that male involvement may actually be detrimental to women's empowerment and autonomy. Few studies explore the realities, perceptions, determinants and efficacy of male involvement in newborn care, especially in African contexts.Birth narratives of recent mothers (n = 25), in-depth interviews with recent fathers (n = 12) and two focus group discussions with fathers (n = 22) were conducted during the formative research phase of a community-based newborn care trial. Secondary analysis of this qualitative data identified emergent themes and established overall associations related to male involvement, newborn care and household roles in a rural African setting.Data revealed that gender dictates many of the perceptions and politics surrounding newborn care in this context. The influence of mother-in-laws and generational power dynamics were also identified as significant. Women alone perform almost all tasks related to newborn care whereas men take on the traditional responsibilities of economic providers and decision makers, especially concerning their wives' and children's health. Most men were interested in being more involved in newborn care but identified barriers to increased involvement, many of which related to gendered and generational divisions of labour and space.Men defined involvement in a variety of ways, even if they were not physically involved in carrying out newborn care tasks. Some participant comments revealed potential risks of increasing male involvement suggesting that male involvement alone should not be an outcome in future interventions. Rather, the effect of male involvement on women's autonomy, the dynamics of senior women's influence and power and the real impact on health outcomes should be considered in intervention design and implementation. Any male involvement intervention should integrate a detailed understanding of context and strategies to include men in maternal and child health should be mutually empowering for both women and men.

SUBMITTER: Dumbaugh M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4137075 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Perceptions of, attitudes towards and barriers to male involvement in newborn care in rural Ghana, West Africa: a qualitative analysis.

Dumbaugh Mari M Tawiah-Agyemang Charlotte C Manu Alexander A ten Asbroek Guus Ha GH Kirkwood Betty B Hill Zelee Z

BMC pregnancy and childbirth 20140812

<h4>Background</h4>Male involvement in various health practices is recognized as an important factor in improving maternal and child health outcomes. Male involvement interventions involve men in a variety of ways, at varying levels of inclusion and use a range of outcome measures. There is little agreement on how male involvement should be measured and some authors contend that male involvement may actually be detrimental to women's empowerment and autonomy. Few studies explore the realities, p ...[more]

PMID: 25112497

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one of the most important predictors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) survival. There is a dearth of literature on CPR engagement in countries such as Ghana, where cardiovascular events are increasingly prevalent. In this study, we sought to evaluate Ghanaians' knowledge of and attitudes towards bystander CPR, in the context of the country's nascent emergency medicine network. METHODS:Capitalizing on the growing ubiquity and use of social media across the country, we used a novel social media sampling strategy for this study. We created, pre-tested, and distributed an online survey, using the two most utilized social media platforms in Ghana: WhatsApp and Facebook. An airtime data incentive of 5 US dollars, worth between 5 and 10 GB of cellular data based on mobile phone carrier, was provided as incentive. Inclusion criteria were (1) ? 18 years of age, (2) living in Ghana. Survey participants were encouraged to distribute the survey within their own networks to expand its reach. We stratified participants' responses by healthcare affiliation, and further grouped healthcare workers into ambulance and non-ambulance personnel. We used chi-square (?2)/Fisher's Exact tests to compare differences in responses between the groups. Based on the question "have you ever heard of CPR?", an alpha of 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval, we expected to have 80% power to detect a 15% difference in responses between lay and healthcare providers with an estimated sample size of 246 study participants. RESULTS:The survey was launched on 8 July 2019 and closed approximately 51 h post-launch. With a 64% completion rate and 479 unique survey completions, the study was overpowered at 96% power, to detect differences in responses between the groups. There was geographic representation across all 10 historic regions of Ghana. Over half (57.8%, n = 277) of the respondents were non-medically affiliated, and 71.9% were women. Healthcare workers were more aware of CPR than lay respondents (96.5% vs 68.1%; p < 0.001). Eighty-five percent of respondents were aware that CPR involves chest compressions, and almost 70% indicated that "mouth to mouth" is a necessary component of CPR. Fewer than 10% were unwilling to administer CPR. Lack of skills (44.9%) and fear of causing harm (25.5%) were barriers noted by respondents for not administering CPR. Notably, a quarter of ambulance workers reported never having received CPR training. If they were to witness a collapse, 62.0% would call an ambulance, and 32.6% would hail a taxi. CONCLUSION:The majority of participants are willing to perform CPR. Contextualized training that emphasizes hands-only CPR and builds participants' confidence may increase bystander willingness and engagement.

Project description:ObjectiveThe study sought to explore the perceptions and attitudes of women in the perinatal period towards the reproductive health services of male midwives.DesignThe study adopted an in-depth exploratory descriptive design for data collection and themes extracted using thematic analysis.SettingAntenatal and postpartum units of two primary healthcare facilities in the Kwabre-East District of Ghana.Participants20 women in the perinatal period who were receiving antenatal care and delivery services from the facilities included in the study were recruited through purposive sampling.FindingsDivergent views emerged among our participants regarding the acceptability and utilisation of perinatal services provided by male midwives. Some participants perceived male midwives as patient, supportive, caring, compassionate and skilful at their work while the negative attitude related to some participants perceiving their interactions with male midwives as an opportunity for sexual violation. Positive attitudes emanated from male midwives' empathetic behaviour, reception, privacy and confidentiality of information. Conversely, negative attitudes arose from a lack of awareness of the changing female gender domination in midwifery, fear and misconceptions. Finally, participants faced various challenges, rooted in culture, which impacted their acceptance of male midwifery services.ConclusionsFactors influencing participants' negative perceptions and attitudes towards male midwives were born out of culturally motivated and gender-sensitive stereotyping rather than male professional midwifery competencies. The study outcome provides the basis and the need for a community-based intervention to effect changes in the perception and attitude of women in the perinatal period towards male midwifery practice in the affected communities. Increasing awareness of the existence of male midwives in the communities would contribute to increasing acceptance and utilisation of their services among women in the perinatal period in Ghana.

Project description:BackgroundPopulations of vultures in Africa have experienced a rapid decline over recent decades, with some species suffering losses of more than 90%. Various forms of human pressures have been identified as the causes of this decline. However, very little is known about the complex interaction between cultural practises, traditional medicine and the vultures' natural environment. The purpose of this study was to analyse human pressures on vultures in relation with cultural attitudes such as their demand for magico-traditional medicine in Côte d'Ivoire, around the Comoé National Park (CNP), one of the last major refuges of these organisms in West Africa.MethodsEleven surrounding villages were visited to carry out ethno-ornithology surveys. One hundred and ten people were interviewed, at a rate of ten people per village, using a semi-structured questionnaire and informal discussions.ResultsThe findings showed that vultures are still being seen both in and around the CNP. The most common species indicated to be observed and indicated by the interviewees were the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis). Nevertheless, 98.2% of the interviewees indicated having observed a decrease in the abundance of vultures over the last few years in the study area, as well as a decline in the number of sightings of these organisms. Interviewees attributed this scarcity of vultures to (1) the limited availability of food resources, (2) pesticide and tobacco poisoning, (3) hunting, (4) rapid population growth, (5) annual bushfires and (6) habitat loss. The uses of the vulture or parts of vultures by the populations surrounding the CNP (traditional medicine, mystic practises, consumption as food, cultural heritage) were also highlighted as real threats to these organisms. And the vulture parts commonly used in this area are: feathers, legs, head, heart, stomach, brain and excrement. The Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) appears to be the most sought-after species and the most widely used for these practises in the study area.ConclusionAppropriate conservation and communication initiatives are required to ensure the survival of these raptors, crucial for ecosystem well-being, while also ensuring a respect of cultural practises.

Dataset Information

Perceptions of, attitudes towards and barriers to male involvement in newborn care in rural Ghana, West Africa: a qualitative analysis.

Publications

Perceptions of, attitudes towards and barriers to male involvement in newborn care in rural Ghana, West Africa: a qualitative analysis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets