"He Does his own and Walks Away"Perceptions About Male Attitudes and Practices Regarding Safe Motherhood in Ekiadolor, Southern Nigeria
The main study objectives were to highlight male attitudes and practices regarding safe motherhood, and to demonstrate the usefulness of qualitative research methods in studying behaviour-related health problems. The setting was Ekiadolor, a semi-urban Nigerian community with an under-resourced dist...
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Published in | African journal of reproductive health Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 76 - 89 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Nigeria
Women's Health and Action Research Centre
01.04.2007
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The main study objectives were to highlight male attitudes and
practices regarding safe motherhood, and to demonstrate the usefulness
of qualitative research methods in studying behaviour-related health
problems. The setting was Ekiadolor, a semi-urban Nigerian community
with an under-resourced district hospital. The study design was a
qualitative research, using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with females
and the local hospital staff as participants, triangulated with Free
Listing Interviews (FLIs) and group interviews of males. The FGD
findings showed a consensus that male practices and attitudes were
generally unsatisfactory, as exemplified by physical violence against
females, delay in enabling access to emergency obstetric care and a
general perception that males were uncaring. However, many males paid
parts of their partners' routine obstetric care bills. These findings
were largely corroborated and enriched by those of the FLIs and group
interviews, albeit with differing emphases; they provided vital inputs
into health education of the community males. In conclusion, the wide
range of attitudes and practices described, and the socioeconomic
settings in which they occur, pose challenges and opportunities for
behaviour change interventions primarily targeting males, poverty
reduction and health service reforms. Health researchers are challenged
to draw from the varied strengths of qualitative research methods. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1118-4841 1118-4841 2141-3606 |
DOI: | 10.2307/30032490 |