A descriptive study on demographic and behavioral characteristics of males and their responses to a male involvement intervention in Blantyre, Malawi

INTRODUCTION: Male involvement (MI) remains a key factor in the enrollment and retention of pregnant women in the Prevention of Mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of men who accompanied their partners for PMTCT services and secondly, describe the reported reasons for the non-reporting by men for the services in Blantyre, Malawi. METHODS: All men included in this analysis were partners of pregnant women enrolled in a MI in PMTCT randomized controlled trial (RCT), which took place in Blantyre, Malawi from 14 June 2013 to 24 February 2014. After randomization women were asked to invite their male partners for PMTCT services either through an invitation card or word of mouth invite. Descriptive statistics were tabulated using Stata. RESULTS: Of the 462 women randomized, 109 (23.59%) women came back to the clinic with their male partner following the intervention. The majority, 307 (66.5%) women returned to the clinic without their partners. Although most men accepted the intervention, some failed to accompany their partners because of work obligations, a lack of interest in accompanying their partners for the service, and others promised to report at the next clinic visit. CONCLUSION: The characteristics of men that reported were similar in the two groups, suggesting that demographic characteristics may not greatly influence their decision to be involved in PMTCT services. There is need to develop more flexible strategies to include men in PMTCT programmes.