UKAid/ Nigeria MNCH2 Programme, No 17 Hospital Road, Nassarawa GRA, Kano State, Nigeria.
Palladium, 20 Port Harcourt Crescent, Off Gimbiya Street, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria.
Reprod Health. 2019 Jul 15;16(1):104. doi: 10.1186/s12978-019-0761-2.
Men in northern Nigeria are considered the leaders and ultimate decision makers, including decisions about health-related behaviours of their wives and children. Yet many men in the region consider pregnancy and childbirth to be in the woman's domain (even if she cannot make related decisions), and may not see a need to educate themselves on the issues. These dynamics directly influence demand for, and utilization of, maternal, newborn, and child health services. This study examines an intervention that educated married men in northern Nigeria about health issues related to pregnancy, labour, delivery, and the postpartum period, as well as newborn and child health, through participation in male support groups. The curriculum also included interpersonal relationship and household decision making, with an emphasis on the need for men to give their wives standing approval to seek health services as needed, for themselves and their children.
We conducted 12 focus group discussions with married men in Kaduna and Katsina states in northern Nigeria - half with men who had participated in the male support groups and half with men from areas that the intervention had not reached. Analysis was thematic, focusing on participants' perceptions of the male support groups, the benefits of the intervention, and enablers and barriers to support group participation.
Perceptions of the male support groups were overwhelmingly positive. Participants internalized important messages they learned, which influenced their decisions related to the health of their wives and children. Some take it upon themselves to educate others in their communities about what they learned, and many say they see changes at the community level, with more utilization of maternal, newborn, and child health services.
In the northern Nigeria context, educating men about danger signs of pregnancy, labour, delivery, newborn, and child health, is crucial to improving maternal and newborn health outcomes. Our intervention was successful not only in educating men, but also in converting some into advocates such that the effect of the intervention went beyond participants to the community. Programmes that aim to improve health-service utilization in northern Nigeria should consider scaling up this, or similar, interventions.
在尼日利亚北部，男性被视为领导者和最终决策者，包括其妻子和子女的健康相关行为决策。然而，该地区的许多男性认为怀孕和分娩属于女性领域（即使她无法做出相关决策），并且可能认为没有必要了解这些问题。这些动态直接影响到孕产妇、新生儿和儿童保健服务的需求和利用。本研究考察了一项干预措施，即通过参与男性支持小组，对尼日利亚北部已婚男性进行与怀孕、分娩、产后以及新生儿和儿童健康相关的健康问题教育，以及人际关系和家庭决策，重点是男性需要给予妻子必要的支持，使其能够在需要时为自己和孩子寻求保健服务。
我们在尼日利亚北部卡杜纳州和卡齐纳州进行了 12 次已婚男性焦点小组讨论，其中一半是参加过男性支持小组的男性，另一半是来自干预措施未覆盖地区的男性。分析采用主题分析方法，重点关注参与者对男性支持小组的看法、干预措施的好处，以及支持小组参与的促进因素和障碍。
男性支持小组的看法非常积极。参与者内化了他们所学的重要信息，这些信息影响了他们与妻子和子女健康相关的决策。一些人自告奋勇地在社区中向他人传授他们所学到的知识，许多人表示，他们看到社区层面发生了变化，孕产妇、新生儿和儿童保健服务的利用率有所提高。
在尼日利亚北部背景下，对男性进行关于怀孕、分娩、新生儿和儿童健康危险信号的教育对于改善母婴健康结果至关重要。我们的干预措施不仅成功地教育了男性，而且还将一些男性转变为倡导者，使干预措施的效果超出了参与者，扩展到了社区。旨在提高尼日利亚北部卫生服务利用率的方案应考虑扩大这一干预措施或类似干预措施。
