UKAid/Nigeria MNCH2 Programme, No 17 Hospital Road, Nassarawa GRA, Kano, Nigeria.
Palladium, Abuja, Nigeria.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2019 Apr 11;19(1):123. doi: 10.1186/s12884-019-2271-1.
Male involvement in maternal, newborn and child health contributes to better health outcomes for women and their children, especially in restrictive societies. There is evidence that when men have better understanding of women's health needs, attitudes toward utilization of maternal and child health services, of both women and men, are improved. Given the role of men as the ultimate decision makers in families in northern Nigerian society, this study assessed the determinants of men's knowledge of danger signs in pregnancy and the continuum of obstetric care, and their perceptions of the importance of antenatal care utilization and health facility delivery.
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Structured questionnaires with close ended questions were administered to 1627 married men who had at least one wife younger than 25 years in communities in Nigeria northern states of Kaduna and Katsina. We use crosstabulations and means to compare characteristics of study respondents in the two states, assessing statistical significance of the differences with χ-square and Anova tests as appropriate, and logistic regressions to assess the determinants of knowledge and perceptions.
Knowledge of obstetric danger signs, especially during the postpartum period, was poor overall, but respondents were relatively more knowledgeable about danger signs during pregnancy and delivery compared with the postpartum period. Most perceived that antenatal care can reduce the risk of complications. Literate men were twice more likely to have positive health-behaviour perceptions. Wealth was positively associated with the perception that women should deliver in a health facility or hospital but did not have a statistically significant effect on the perception that antenatal care can reduce the risk of complications.
While knowledge of obstetric danger signs was poor, literacy and household wealth significantly influenced knowledge of obstetric danger signs and perceptions that women should deliver at a health facility. Male involvement programmes need to ensure that men are empowered to understand obstetric danger signs along the continuum of obstetric care to improve perception and utilization of maternal health services for better maternal and newborn health outcomes.
男性参与孕产妇、新生儿和儿童健康有助于改善妇女及其儿童的健康结果，尤其是在限制较多的社会中。有证据表明，当男性更好地了解妇女的健康需求时，他们对利用孕产妇和儿童健康服务的态度（无论是女性还是男性）都会得到改善。鉴于男性在尼日利亚北部社会中作为家庭最终决策者的角色，本研究评估了男性对妊娠危险信号和产科护理连续性的知识的决定因素，以及他们对利用产前护理和在保健机构分娩的重要性的看法。
这是一项横断面描述性研究。在尼日利亚北部卡杜纳州和卡齐纳州的社区中，向至少有一位年龄在 25 岁以下的妻子的 1627 名已婚男性发放了带有封闭式问题的结构化问卷。我们使用交叉表和平均值来比较两个州的研究受访者的特征，使用 χ2 检验和方差分析（Anova）适当评估差异的统计学意义，并使用逻辑回归评估知识和看法的决定因素。
总的来说，对产科危险信号的了解，特别是在产后期间，非常差，但与产后期间相比，受访者对妊娠和分娩期间的危险信号相对更了解。大多数人认为产前护理可以降低并发症的风险。文化程度较高的男性更有可能对健康行为有积极的看法。财富与认为妇女应在保健机构或医院分娩的看法呈正相关，但对认为产前护理可以降低并发症风险的看法没有统计学意义。
尽管对产科危险信号的了解很差，但文化程度和家庭财富对产科危险信号的了解和认为妇女应在保健机构分娩的看法有显著影响。男性参与方案需要确保男性有能力了解整个产科护理过程中的产科危险信号，以改善对孕产妇健康服务的看法和利用，从而改善孕产妇和新生儿的健康结果。
