Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40996968›Full record

ArticlePLOS global public health2025

Relational contexts and men's responsibilities informing men's participation in antenatal care in rural sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.

Anthony Shuko Musiwa, Webster Mavhu, Owen Nyamwanza, Agatha Nyambi, Maya Stevens-Uninsky, Nadia Rehman, Naharin Sultana Anni, Roseline Dzekem Dine, Elizabeth Chadambuka, Rachel Couban and 1 more

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Article in PLOS global public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Anthony Shuko MusiwaDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7851-6862
Webster MavhuDepartment of International Public Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1881-4398
Owen NyamwanzaCentre for Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS Research Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0577-4702
Agatha NyambiDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0619-7700
Maya Stevens-UninskyDepartment of Global Health, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nadia RehmanDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0174-1527
Naharin Sultana AnniDepartment of Global Health, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Roseline Dzekem DineDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Elizabeth ChadambukaDepartment of Health Sciences, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Rachel CoubanFaculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8672-2845
Lawrence MbuagbawDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Men's participation is critical to improving antenatal care (ANC) and maternal and child health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the region where these outcomes are the worst globally. Many current studies employ narrow, biomedical definitions that focus on men's direct involvement in ANC. Little is known about how fatherhood and men's participation in ANC are conceived or experienced in specific sociocultural contexts in SSA. We aimed to synthesize the existing scientific literature on the relational contexts that shape fatherhood and men's participation in ANC, and men's specific responsibilities within those contexts in rural SSA. Following Arksey and O'Malley's classical methodology, we searched ten electronic databases (African Index Medicus, Africa Journals Online, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociology Collection, Social Sciences Abstract, and Social Sciences Citation Index) for peer-reviewed articles published from January 1st, 2000, to October 31st, 2024. Articles were included if they examined fatherhood and men's participation in ANC in rural SSA, systematically analyzed primary or secondary data, and were written in any language. Seventy-seven articles reporting 58 qualitative, 6 quantitative, and 13 mixed-methods studies spanning 15 countries in SSA were included in this review. We identified ten main themes that addressed our review's objective. Two themes depicted relational contexts that shape fatherhood experiences and men's participation in ANC in rural SSA: (1) familial and communal collaboration, and (2) gendered and culturally-defined role structures. Eight themes described men's specific responsibilities in ANC within the relational contexts identified above: (3) family leaders, (4) decision-makers, (5) providers, (6) protectors, (7) advocates, (8) advisors, (9) nurturers, and (10) helpers. The findings of this review highlight contextually-valid and socioculturally-meaningful experiences that broaden understandings of fatherhood and men's participation in ANC in rural SSA. Future studies can employ Afrocentric approaches to capture often-marginalized perspectives.

Identifiers

PMID40996968
PMCPMC12463206

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.