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- Aarnio, Pauliina, et al.
(författare)
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Husband's role in handling pregnancy complications in Mangochi District, Malawi : A call for increased focus on community level male involvement
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare. - : ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD. - 1877-5756 .- 1877-5764. ; 16, s. 61-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The objective of the current study is to provide information about husbands' role in decision-making and healthcare seeking in cases of pregnancy complications in Mangochi district, Malawi with an analysis of qualitative interviews using the concepts of "capital" and "field" from Bourdieu's social field theory. Study design: Twelve husbands and wives who had experienced pregnancy complications and six key informants from a semi-rural area of Mangochi district were interviewed individually. Thematic analysis was conducted based on the concepts of capital and field in Bourdieu's social field theory. Results: Husbands have significant economic and symbolic capital in decisions about healthcare seeking during instances of pregnancy complications as a result of their roles as father, head of the household and main income earner. Lack of money is the only acceptable reason for husbands to deny their wives healthcare. Husbands have limited access to knowledge of maternal health, which can compromise their decisions about seeking healthcare. Joint decision-making within families can be bypassed to allow for prompt healthcare seeking in emergencies. Conclusions: Husbands are important decision makers regarding seeking healthcare for pregnancy complications because of their economic and symbolic power and despite their limited access to knowledge of maternal health. Maternal healthcare seeking practices would benefit from wives gaining an empowered role as well as improved knowledge of maternal health among husbands.
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| 2. |
- Aarnio, Pauliina, et al.
(författare)
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Male involvement in antenatal HIV counseling and testing : exploring men's perceptions in rural Malawi
- 2009
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Ingår i: AIDS Care. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0954-0121 .- 1360-0451. ; 21:12, s. 1537-1546
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antenatal care can act as an excellent tool to improve access to HIV counseling and testing services. This paper investigates an issue that may weaken its potential, namely lack of male involvement. We explored married men's perceptions of HIV in pregnancy and male involvement in antenatal HIV testing and counseling in Southern Malawi through 11 focus group discussions and a cross-sectional survey (n=388). The main findings were that men were largely unaware of available antenatal HIV testing and counseling services, and perceived it overall problematic to attend female-oriented health care. Most men supported provision of antenatal HIV testing. They perceived husbands to participate in the process indirectly through spousal communication, being faithful during pregnancy, and supporting the wife if found HIV-positive. Involvement of husbands was compromised by men's reluctance to learn their HIV status and the threat that HIV poses on marriage. Men stressed the importance of prior spousal agreement of antenatal HIV testing and considered HIV testing without their consent a valid reason for divorce. We suggest that male involvement in antenatal HIV testing requires refocusing of information and health services to include men. To avoid negative social outcomes for women, comprehensive and early involvement of men is essential.
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