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<strong>Gender</strong> Influences On Child Survival, Health And Nutrition: A Narrative Review Box 7 Men and child care A small number of studies have identified gendered beliefs and perceptions that influence men’s caring roles. For example Roopnarine et al (1995) and Hossain et al (2005) show how men are more likely to engage in play with their children than in other forms of child care, such as feeding or cleaning. This is linked to perceptions that women are more ‘suited’ to the daily tasks of maintaining household members, but more positively, also suggests that men are engaging in useful aspects of child care in terms of children’s psychological growth and well being. Researchers have also explored the potential for men to become more involved in key child care practices. For example a study undertaken in an urban suburb in Tanzania which involved interviews with ten new fathers attending reproductive and child health clinics with their partners found that these men were challenging traditional gender roles by contributing to household chores and care of their children (Mbekenga et al. 2011). The authors highlighted that there is often a lack of resources available for fathers concerned about their family’s health and yet excluded from reproductive and child health services conventionally focused solely on women. A review of studies of men’s involvement in health (Barker et al. 2003) highlights the lack of research on men’s roles and responsibilities and draws on findings from the small number of existing studies to identify some of the constraints men experience in fulfilling their gendered responsibilities as fathers and married men. For example, there is evidence to suggest that young men experience considerable anxiety about their role as financial provider of young children, and yet very few programmes have examined the multiple roles of fathers, neither do they “promote greater involvement by fathers in child care and maternal health” (p. 12). A study investigating the determinants of immunisation uptake for children aged 12-18 months found that fathers’ involvement in decision-making was linked to a higher rate of completion (odds ratio = 5.7, 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 1.5-21.7) which suggests that positive results can be reaped through involving men in child health care provision 15 (Brugha, Kevany & Swan 1996). The analysis of men’s roles by Barker et al. also suggests that the framing of men’s lack of involvement with their children as “irresponsibility” does not recognise the complexity of men’s experiences (Barker et al. 2003). For example, the degree of fathers’ involvement with and provision for their children may be influenced by their life stage. Research from the Caribbean exploring patterns of fatherhood from adolescence through to adulthood demonstrates qualitatively that young fathers may often prioritise their own needs when spending their income and in many cases father children in their adolescence as a way of “establishing their manhood” even without the means to support children. However at a later stage in life, these same men may exchange their temporary alliances for more permanent unions with female partners and go on to “devote considerable resources to “inside children” —those with whom they currently reside” (Brown & Chevannes, 1998 cited in Barker et al 2003: 13). This does not however 15 This finding was only true for men who spoke English and neither factors (men’s participation or their ability to speak English) was associated independently with children’s immunisation status. The authors suggest that where fathers have a higher rate of education, programmes designed to include them in child health services may experience greater success in timely immunisation. 39
<strong>Gender</strong> Influences On Child Survival, Health And Nutrition: A Narrative Review address the matter of how the mothers of infants and young children cope while the fathers of their children are establishing themselves in the earlier stage of their lives. This section has highlighted that: ‣ Although men have not traditionally fulfilled caring roles, there is evidence to suggest their greater input into child health/care could have positive outcomes for the health and development of their children; ‣ When men are involved in child care there is evidence to suggest that they tend to be involved in play rather than engaged in daily child care routines ; ‣ Men’s roles are also context specific and should not be generalized, for example there may be important life stage and socio cultural <strong>influences</strong> that impact on their behaviour; ‣ It is important to find ways in which men can be encouraged to take a more active role in child health/care while also ensuring that existing power relations are not reinforced but challenged and transformed to become more gender equitable. REVIEW OF STUDIES 40
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Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This review was co
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1: Diagram
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