The examining knowledge attitudes and practices of male partners in prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV: a case of Makete district, Njombe region.
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Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Male partner’s involvement in PMTCT services is crucial in ensuring that every child is born free from HIV and the parents continue to live in a health condition. There have been a number of initiatives in ensuring that accessibility of PMTCT services are made easy to the citizens. At the grassroots level, local government leaders have been conducting a number of sensitization meetings so as to increase people’s awareness on the need of the male partners to do counseling and testing. Nevertheless, low participation of men in ante natal care is still observed. (National PMTCT program data 2013). The study was conducted in Makete District to understand the knowledge, attitudes and practices of male partners in Prevention of mother to child transmission through early counseling and testing of HIV/AIDS. Furthermore the study investigated whether the low involvement of men in PMTCT is caused by them having insufficient knowledge and inappropriate attitudes towards early counseling and testing at the Ante Natal clinic. Panel survey, questionnaires and in depth interviews were the methods deployed in the study to acquire more information from the respondents. The findings from the panel survey stipulated high prevalence of knowledge, positive attitudes and higher practices of male partners by doing testing and counseling in preventing the transmission of a virus that causes HIV from a mother to her child and the major reason towards such findings was the presence of the by-law that makes it compulsory for men to go with their partners to the ANC during pregnancy. Having the by-law in place has necessitated increase of uptake of PMTCT services to the male partners, hence helped in decreasing the transmissions and a change of the gender stereo types that ensuring the health of the baby was considered as a female responsibility to the view that both parents are responsible to ensure that they prevent the transmission to the baby.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class mark (THS EAF RA643.86.T34M37)
Keywords
Aids (Disease), AIDS disease in pregnancy, Prevention, Makete district, Njombe region, Tanzania
Citation
Matekele, D. R. (2016). The examining knowledge attitudes and practices of male partners in prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV: a case of Makete district, Njombe region. Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam.