‘The study has taught me to be supportive of her’: empowering women and involving men in microbicide research

Abstract

Recognising that women often have little control over most HIV-prevention methods, including condoms, researchers have made efforts to develop new bio-technological interventions, such as microbicides, that could allow women greater autonomy in HIV-prevention decision making. In many situations, women are unable to negotiate condom use with their partners, meaning that they could be better protected through the use of an effective microbicide. This paper uses qualitative data from the Microbicide Development Programme 301 (MDP301) microbicide trial in Johannesburg, South Africa. Data is taken from in-depth interviews with male partners of female trial participants (n = 28), six focus-group discussions involving male partners of trial participants (n = 4) and female participants (n = 2). Data show that men's involvement in microbicide research ranges from a disinterest in trials to the desire to actively take part in and promote research that affects the health of themselves and their partners. Results showed that some participants were reluctant to disclose trial involvement and product use to their partners, making identifying men as potential research participants problematic. This paper considers how to involve men in microbicide research without undermining women's sense of empowerment and ownership of the trial and the product that is being tested.

Perceptions about the cultural practices of male partners during postpartum care in rural Tanzania: a qualitative study

“…Previous studies in many countries, including Tanzania, show similar results, namely women depending on their male partners to make decisions on whether and where to seek medical care, which limits women’s right to sexual and reproductive health [17,18,38,41,43,44]. However, this prevalent position is not universal [34].…”

“…Men as individuals can also benefit from being involved in parenting and reproductive health programs [16]. However, it is important to point out that men’s increased involvement in reproductive health programs could also lead to men having increased control over women’s reproductive choices [17]. …”

“…Despite the potential that men’s involvement in maternal healthcare has in terms of improving the health of the men, women and children, men’s actual involvement remains low in most African countries [1,17–20]. To understand why, it is necessary to consider gender relations [20].…”

The influence of social constructs of hegemonic masculinity and sexual behaviour on acceptability of vaginal microbicides in Zambia

“…M. Montgomery et al, 2008;Moon et al, 2002;Veldhuijzen et al, 2006;Venables & Stadler, 2012;C. Woodsong & Alleman, 2008).…”

“…Woodsong et al, 2013). One prominent issue from these studies is the role male partners play in the use of vaginal microbicide (Doggett et al, 2015;Jones, Weiss, Chitalu, Bwalya, & Villar, 2008;Koo, Woodsong, Dalberth, Viswanathan, & Simons-Rudolph, 2005;Lanham et al, 2014; C. M. Montgomery et al, 2010; C. M. Montgomery et al, 2008;Moon, Khumalo-Sakutukwa, Heiman, Mbizvo, & Padian, 2002;Venables & Stadler, 2012;C. Woodsong & Alleman, 2008;Cynthia Woodsong & Holt, 2015; C. Woodsong et al, 2013).…”