Attitude and subjective norms as predictors of intention of married men and women to accept caesarean section delivery in Lagos, Nigeria

BackgroundDespite the life-saving benefits, there is a great deal of reluctance among Nigerian women and their husbands to have a caesarean section (CS) delivery for at risk pregnancy. This study assessed attitude and associated subjective norm involved in resolving whether to elect CS delivery among couples in Lagos, Nigeria. MethodsThe study was cross-sectional survey design. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data from four hundred and twenty-two consenting respondents who were selected through a systematic sampling technique. Data were transformed from response items into weighted-aggregate scores for moderating variables. The statistical product and Service Solution version 23 was used in analyzing the data to generate mean, standard deviation and multivariate analysis. All test were conducted at p [≤] 0.05 level of significance. ResultsThe mean age of the respondents for males and females were 38.7{+/-}11.6 years and 37.4{+/-}9.8 years respectively. The male and female respondents had a mean score of 7.78 {+/-}2.82; 8.56 {+/-}3.08; 15.41{+/-}6.97 and 13.66 {+/-} 7.10 computed for attitudinal disposition and subjective norms respectively. Three out of every 10 male respondents and 2 out of every 10 females were likely to accept CS if the need arose. Pain accompanied with the delivery method (male: 40.3%; female: 38.4%) and risk/complications of the method (male: 30.3%; female: 23.7%) were barriers the respondents reported. Over half of the respondents (males: 53.1%; females: (57.8%) had moderate level of intention to accept CS. There was a significant association between the subjective norm considerations of both the male (R2 = 0.04; Beta= 0.08; p = 0.002) and female (R2 = 0.09; Beta= 0.12; p = 0.0001) respondents regarding their intention to accept CS. ConclusionMost of the respondents placed high subjective norm considerations in accepting CS. None of the respondents expressed high intention of accepting CS. Alongside efforts to strengthen health education regarding CS option for delivery, the media should be used as a tool to debunk misconceptions about CS actively.