KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTIONS ABOUT MALE INFERTILITY IN THE KUMASI METROPOLIS

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Infertility is the inability of a couple to conceive after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. In the Ghanaian society women bear the brunt for a couple’s inability to have children. Studies put male factors and female factors on the same level of causation. There seem to be little knowledge about male infertility in our communities. This study sought to assess knowledge about male infertility, identify some of the factors associated with knowledge about male infertility and explore some perceptions about male infertility. It also determined the factors that influenced people’s perception about male infertility in the Kumasi metropolis.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional quantitative study. Multistage sampling method was used in selecting respondents. Two hundred participants from the Kumasi metropolis were involved in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on participants’ socio-demographic information, knowledge about male infertility and perceptions about male infertility. Data was entered with Microsoft Excel. STATA software version 14 was used to perform chi square test for associations and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results: Sixty-six percent of the respondents had poor knowledge about male infertility. Over sixty-two percent of women had good knowledge about male infertility compared with men. Married respondents were six times more likely to have good knowledge about male infertility. Fifty eight percent thought male infertility was not common. Over 70% thought men were embarrassed to discuss male infertility issues. Over 80% thought that men did not put in effort to preserve their fertility and would not avail themselves for fertility diagnosis.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that more effort should be put into educating the public on male infertility. This will reduce the prevalence of male infertility and reduce the stigma and emotional turmoil women in childless marriages go through.