Involving Men in Maternity Care in Burkina Faso

NCT ID: NCT02309489

Last Updated: 2019-07-05

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 1144 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2015-01-31
• Study Completion Date: 2016-07-31

Brief Summary

The uptake of postpartum contraception, postpartum care attendance and the practice of exclusive breastfeeding are low in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although the involvement of men in maternity care has been shown to be a promising strategy for the achievement of other reproductive health goals, little is known about the effect of their participation on these outcomes. This study aims to test whether the involvement of men can improve care-seeking and promote healthy behaviours among postpartum women in Burkina Faso.

Detailed Description

There is a paucity of evidence on strategies to increase the uptake of postpartum contraception and attendance at facility-based postpartum care in developing countries, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is also a need to test new solutions to improve adherence to recommended infant feeding practices in these settings. Partner opposition is a major barrier to women's uptake of contraceptive methods in the postpartum period in Burkina Faso, and research has shown the need to sensitise and inform men about a broad range of topics related to reproductive health. However, the effect of involving male partners on women's and newborns' health and wellbeing in low-resource settings is not well known, and there is particularly little evidence for outcomes related to the postpartum period.

The aim of this study is to assess whether male partner involvement in maternity care has the potential to increase care-seeking and promote healthy behaviours among postpartum women in an urban West-African setting. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention to promote the involvement in maternity care of the partners of pregnant women attending primary health care facilities will be conducted in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. The intervention consists of three extra components in addition to standard maternity care: one extra couple counselling session during pregnancy (A), partner participation in a group education session for men (B), and partner participation in the pre-discharge consultation after birth (C). Women in the control group will receive standard maternity care only, in which men do not participate.

A qualitative component will be carried out alongside the RCT, in order to examine the factors that may have determined the success, or lack thereof, of the intervention by reflecting on the experience of participants (women, partners , and health workers), and to explore their attitudes, beliefs and concerns relative to partner involvement in maternity care, through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews.

The policy implications of the study findings will be assessed and, if appropriate, a strategy will be developed for their dissemination among policymakers and other stakeholders.

Conditions

Postpartum Period

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Intervention

• Receive standard maternity care
• Woman and partner attend one extra couple counselling session during pregnancy (A)
• Partner attends one group education session for men (B)
• Partner participates in pre-discharge consultation (C)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Partner involvement

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Partner is involved in maternity care

Control

• Receive standard maternity care
• No active encouragement of partner involvement, no extra sessions offered

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Partner involvement

Partner is involved in maternity care

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 16-18, married, or
• Age 18+, in a co-habiting relationship
• Pregnant 24-36 weeks
• No obstetric risk factors requiring hospital delivery
• Lives no more than one hour away on foot, not planning to move from the city
• Gives informed consent

• Declines to participate

• Minimum Eligible Age: 16 Years
• Eligible Sex: FEMALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy (STEP UP)

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Department for International Development, United Kingdom

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Marina Daniele, MSc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Locations

District Sanitaire de Dafra

Bobo-Dioulasso, , Burkina Faso

Countries

Burkina Faso

Other Identifiers

QA649

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id