Online Program

284761
Men as partners: Preventing HIV/AIDS and promoting gender equity with innovative male involvement in PMTCT and VCT services


Monday, November 4, 2013 : 8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Sara Melillo, MPH, Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), Washington, DC
Catherine Nguni, MPH, Catholic Medical Mission Board, Lusaka, Zambia
Mweemba Choonza, BA, Catholic Medical Mission Board, Lusaka, Zambia
Claudia Llanten, MD, MPH, Calle Las Camelias, 855 Departmento 301, Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), Lima, Peru
Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) developed a new programmatic strategy called Men Taking Action (MTA) to address barriers to male involvement in PMTCT and VCT in Zambia. MTA trained traditional community leaders to mobilize men for promoting PMTCT and VCT. CMMB implemented MTA at 31 Church Health Institutions (CHIs) and associated communities in 25 Zambian districts. Data collection involved desk review of MTA registers and monthly reports at all MTA CHIs and a KAP survey at 10 CHIs. The KAP sites were selected using a non-probabilistic sampling methodology for major cultural groupings. Respondents were selected randomly. Every site had a focus group involving community leaders and male members. Among pregnant women attending ANC, 92% vs. baseline of 60%, tested and received results. 100%, vs. 70% at baseline, of women who tested HIV positive accepted ARVs for PMTCT and HIV care. For VCT, 70%, vs. a starting baseline of 11.7% of men tested and received results. 98% of women reported a reduction in spousal physical violence, and 65% revealed that they now jointly plan how funds earned by the spouse are spent. Findings show male involvement in health can increase TC among pregnant women and couples, reduce stigma, and improve PMTCT uptake. Leveraging traditional leaders as health champions is an effective way engaging men in HIV care and gender equity with positive behavioral change. This strategy can be adapted to promote behavior change with chronic and infectious disease interventions in other sub-Saharan African countries facing a generalized or gendered HIV epidemic.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate the value of including male partner involvement in HIV programs Describe the best practices for involving men in HIV/AIDS prevention programming Discuss the value of male partner HIV prevention efforts for improving gender behavioral outcomes

Keyword(s): International Health, HIV Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I lead community-based public health programs and have experience implementing public health programs globally.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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