Men’s Involvement in Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention in Mathare Informal Settlement, Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2025-09
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
This study sought to establish men’s involvement in adolescent pregnancy prevention in Mathare
informal settlement, Nairobi City County. Adolescent pregnancy is an increasing challenge that
negatively impacts individual girls, society, and the country’s economy. A lot of efforts have been made
to end these pregnancies over the years, including empowering the girls, sexual and reproductive health
and rights (SRHR) laws and policies, among others, but only a slight decrease has been seen. This
increasingly widens the gender divide. Though men are part of the causes of adolescent pregnancies
and there have been calls to have them take part in preventing the vice, there was limited information
on their involvement. It was therefore important to gather information about men’s involvement in
preventing adolescent pregnancies to inform relevant programs, policies, and action plans, as well as
support self-initiatives by these men. The objectives of this study were: to find out ways in which men
were involved in adolescent pregnancy prevention, the factors influencing their involvement, and to
determine the strategies that could be used to ensure increased involvement of the men in preventing
adolescent pregnancies. The study was guided by the caring masculinities concept that supports care
values such as equal relations while rejecting domination that often leads to gender-based violence.
Additionally, the socio-ecological model was used to determine men’s levels of involvement and situate
the strategies. This study was based on the assumption that if men were involved in preventing
adolescent pregnancies, then the rate would go down. The levels and influence of their involvement are
modified by the National SRHR and gender policies, as well as gender-related conventions. The study
was conducted in Mathare Sub-County in Nairobi County, collecting data from men aged 18-70 years.
The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design with a mixed-method approach, collecting
both quantitative and qualitative data from about 376 men. Key informant interviews with
knowledgeable individuals on the study subject were conducted to enable triangulation of the data.
Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations between variables
using SPSS version 26, while qualitative data from KII were transcribed and analysed thematically
through QDA Miner Lite and ATLAS.ti. The findings for objective one showed that only 32.7% of
men in Mathare exhibited their caring masculinities through their involvement in adolescent pregnancy
prevention and were more engaged at the individual, peer, and community levels. Some organizations
included men in their adolescent pregnancy prevention programs, especially in awareness creation. As
per objective two, the study found that different factors influenced men’s involvement in adolescent
pregnancy prevention. These included: beliefs & misconceptions about men's involvement, knowledge
of men’s involvement, relationship status, number of children, peer influence, and weak
implementation of laws. On the final objective, the study established that the strategies proposed by the
respondents and those implemented by the key informants include: making men aware of the
consequences of adolescent pregnancy, educating men on SRHR, economically empower men, and
conducting media campaigns on men's involvement. The study concluded that men need gender
transformational approaches that work to challenge the social norms around adolescent pregnancies
and nurture caring masculinities. These approaches need to be situated in the socio-ecological model
to ensure that they reach everyone around these men. Future researchers have an opportunity to assess
strategies that successfully mitigate negative peer influence and promote positive engagement in
adolescent pregnancy prevention
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts in Gender and Development Studies of Kenyatta University, September, 2025
Supervisors:
1.Pacificah Okemwa
2.Sheila N. Mutuma