Perceptions of men on community and their uptake of health services on experiencing domestic violence; a cross sectional study from Kisumu County, Western Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-2156.IntJSciRep20214934Keywords:
Domestic violence, Community, Perceptions, Uptake of health servicesAbstract
Background: The quality of life can be impacted negatively by domestic violence among partners. The community plays a major role in what they perceive could motivate or harbor health seeking services by men on experiencing domestic violence. Little is however known of men’s perceptions on community in relation to men’s health seeking. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the men’s perceptions on community and their uptake of health services on experiencing domestic violence in Kisumu.
Methods: A cross sectional study design of 438 participants was used. The study was conducted from July 2019 to September 2019 using self-administered questionnaires. Basic socio-demographic characteristics were collected and participants’ community perceptions and their uptake of health services on experiencing domestic violence were investigated. Descriptive statistics were computed to characterize the study population with frequency distribution tables used to show distribution of respondents by key variables, expressed as counts and corresponding percentages.
Results: Respondents who participated in the study were 398 (90.8%). Descriptive statistics analysis showed that 58.3% of the respondents perceived shame, fear and embarrassment from the communities as barriers to seeking health services.
Conclusions: Health services offered to men should be target oriented with interventions in place to ensure men are well managed and advised on the importance of health seeking in the face of domestic violence. The results from this study calls for advocacy on the importance of community awareness in relation to health seeking especially by men on experiencing domestic violence to aid in improving their life.
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