Sociocultural Factors Shaping Fatherhood and Men's Participation in Antenatal Care in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Men's participation is critical to improving antenatal care (ANC) utilisation and mother and child health in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Additionally, current reviews typically examine sociocultural determinants narrowly as barriers or facilitators of men's direct involvement in biomedical ANC activities. We aimed to consolidate existing literature on sociocultural factors shaping fatherhood and men's participation in ANC in rural SSA to inform tailored interventions. We conducted a scoping review, searching 10 online 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 that reported studies on fatherhood and men's participation in ANC in rural SSA, systematically analysed primary or secondary data, employed a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods design and were published between January 2000 and October 2024 in any language. We included 77 articles reporting 58 qualitative, 6 quantitative and 13 mixed-methods studies conducted in 15 SSA countries. We identified 12 themes demonstrating that local sociocultural conceptions, norms, dynamics and experiences intricately shape fatherhood and men's participation in many different forms of ANC in rural SSA. We recommend interventions that reflect local realities and research that employs Afrocentric approaches to centre marginalised perspectives in rural SSA.