Male partner involvement in the reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Malawi A secondary analysis using the 2010 Malawi Demographic Health Survey (MDHS) data

Roselyne Reine Kewe

Book - 2015

Male partner involvement in maternal reproductive health has been demonstrated to be beneficial for both the mother and the child, yet male involvement in low and middle income countries of sub-Saharan Africa remain low. Many factors influence male involvement in the reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, particularly the culture and the social norms. This study analyzed data from the 2010 Malawi Demographics and Health Survey to examine the association between male partner involvement and maternal HIV testing. Logistic regression was used to examine the crude association between the male partner knowledge about the therapy of HIV and the expectant woman getting HIV tested. The results were statistically significant with odds rat...ios 2.06 and the 95% Confidence Intervals (1.26-3.37). However, after adjusting for the relevant covariates, education attainment, ethnicity, religion, religion, wealth quintile, it was found that the association between male partner involvement and the expectant women getting tested was attenuated and not statistically significantly (OR=1.56 and 95% CI: 0.94-2.58). These findings were inconsistent with previous studies. Further research in the area is needed using larger, nationally representative Malawian samples. Furthermore, more explicit categorization of our exposure variable is needed to confirm these findings. more