Knowledge, attitudes and practices of infertile couples on male participation in infertility management at the Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine knowledge, attitudes and practices of infertile couples on male involvement in the management of infertility.

Design: Hospital based cross-sectional study.

Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.

Subjects: One hundred sixty three infertile couples attending the gynaecological and infertility clinics at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Main outcome measures: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of infertile couples on male participation in infertility management.

Results: A total of 163 infertile couples(with only 34 men accompanying their wives in this study period) were recruited into the study. Sixty nine point nine percent(114) of the women who participated in this study were ever accompanied to the clinic by their spouses, but only 20.9%(34) were accompanied during the study period. Couple awareness on male participation in infertility was 61.8% by the men and 67.5% by the women but they all agreed that it would improve the care given. The male partners who came to the clinic were more involved in the care of their partners, in terms of paying hospital bills, having investigations performed on them, participating in the decision making process and accepting treatment (p<0.05). On multiple logistic regression, it was found that male partners of accompanied women were paying the medical bills (p value = 0.017, OR=3.0[1.2-7.4]), being investigated (p-value=0.011, OR=3.1[1.3-7.5]), helping decide the treatment the partner receives (p-value = 0.04, OR=2.5[1.0-5.9]) and accepting treatment if found to have a problem (p-value=0.005, OR=4.0[1.5-10.5]).

Conclusion: Male participation in infertility management was low 34(20.9%) and structures need to be put in place to improve male partner participation in infertility management.