Determinants of male partner involvement in antenatal care services at Kangundo Sub-County Hospital in Kenya

Background: Male partner involvement in antenatal care services is aimed at improving maternal health outcomes since men are important persons who play great roles at the family level.

Objective: To assess the level and determinants of male partner involvement in antenatal care at Kangundo Sub-County hospital in Kenya.

Methods: The study used analytical cross-sectional study method and was carried out in the maternal and child health clinic of Kangundo Sub-County hospital. Two hundred pregnant women at any gestational age, accompanied or not, seeking antenatal care services during the study period formed the study population. Simple random sampling technique was used to achieve a sample size of 132 participants. The data was then analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20.0.

Results: The study revealed a low-level male partner involvement of 34.1%. Business as male partners' occupation (OR = 2, 95% CI (0.314 - 12.729), and distance from the health facility; living 4km from the facility (OR = 5.225, 95%CI (1.319 - 20.705) and more than 5km from the facility (OR = 3.520, 95% CI (0.941 - 13.174) were significantly associated with male partner involvement.

Conclusion: The factors contributing to low male partner involvement included: men being busy at work and the distance covered to reach the health facility.