Abstract:
Male partner participation in activities targeting elimination of MTCT of HIV (eMTCT)
remains low in Kisumu East Sub-County, despite its critical importance in reducing
rates of MTCT. The Sub-County has a high MTCT of HIV currently at 15%. This study
sought to identify factors associated with male partner participation in elimination of
MTCT activities. A cross sectional study was conducted among women aged ≥18 years
who had children aged ≤12 months and were attending child health clinic for
immunization services, in four health centers in Kisumu East Sub-County, between
February and April, 2015. Systematic random sampling was used to select eligible
participants and semi-structured questionnaires used for data collection. Male
involvement was defined based on an index score of five key variables of equal weight.
A score of 0-2 was classified as low male involvement while a score of 3-5 was high
male involvement. Data analyses were done using EPI Info 7. A total of 216 participants
were enrolled. Mean age was 26.1 years (±5.5 years), 189 (88%) were married, 119
(55%) had post primary education and 32 (15%) were employed. High male
involvement was observed in 22.2% of the women and was associated with a woman
having >8 years of formal schooling (AOR 3.9, CI=1.5-10.1), history of prior couple
testing (AOR 3.2, CI=1.4-7.2) and male partner having read the mother-child booklet
during pregnancy (AOR 2.9, CI=1.3-6.5). Low involvement was associated with male
partner unemployment (AOR 0.3, CI=0.1-0.8). Male involvement in MTCT was low
and was associated with women‟s level of education and previous male involvement in
reproductive health activities. This study recommends targeted strategies to encourage
men to participate in activities targeting eMTCT, including using formal invitation cards
to improve male partner testing for HIV at the MTCT.
