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Using a Social Support Framework to Understand How HIV Positive Kenyan Men Engage in PMTCT/EID Care: Qualitative Insights From Male Partners

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Abstract

Greater male partner involvement in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) and Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) is associated with improved outcomes. Perceived low social support for the mother can negatively impact the uptake of PMTCT/EID services. Most research relies on women’s reports of the types and quality of male partner support received versus what is desired. This qualitative study examines Kenyan male partners' reported social support provision pre- and post-partum from their own perspective. The study was embedded within intervention development studies in Kenya designed to develop and pilot a PMTCT module of a web based system to improve EID. Focus groups were conducted with male partners of pregnant women with HIV and elicited feedback on male partner involvement in maternal and child care and factors affecting participation. Interviews were analyzed within a theoretical social support framework. Participants described providing tangible support (financial resources), informational support (appointment reminders) and emotional support (stress alleviation in the face of HIV-related adversity). African conceptualizations of masculinity and gender norms influenced the types of support provided. Challenges included economic hardship; insufficient social support from providers, peers and bosses; and HIV stigma. Collaboration among providers, mothers and partners; a community-based social support system; and recasting notions of traditional masculinity were identified as ways to foster male partner support.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by National Institutes of Health grants R34MH107337, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, and R01HD076673 and R01HD076673-04S1, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mailstop 3064, 4125 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA

    Natabhona M. Mabachi, Melinda Brown, Matthew Sandbulte, Catherine Wexler & Sarah Finocchario-Kessler

  2. Children’s Mercy Kansas City, Health Services and Outcomes Research, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Kathy Goggin

  3. Global Health Innovations, Nairobi, Kenya

    May Maloba

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  1. Natabhona M. Mabachi
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Correspondence to Natabhona M. Mabachi.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Mabachi, N.M., Brown, M., Sandbulte, M. et al. Using a Social Support Framework to Understand How HIV Positive Kenyan Men Engage in PMTCT/EID Care: Qualitative Insights From Male Partners. AIDS Behav 24, 18–28 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02451-6

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