Knowledge, Prevalence, and Attitude of Males Regarding Infertility in Egor Local Government Area, Benin City, Edo State

Abstract

Infertility is of public health importance in Nigeria and many parts of Africa especially sub-Saharan Africa not only because of its high prevalence but also due to the devastating social effects on affected couples and families. However, despite its high prevalence in Nigeria, not much is known about the male  perspectiveof infertility. This study revealed the knowledge, prevalence and attitude of males regarding infertility in Egor LGA, Benin City. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among adult males in Egor LGA, Benin City.  Respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. A pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to  obtain data. The analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 21.0. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. A total of 779 adult males participated in this study. The mean age of respondents was 38.8 ± 9.2 years. Majority of the respondents 636 (81.6%) had good knowledge of infertility. There was a statistically significant association between duration of marriage and knowledge  (p<0.001).Prevalence of infertility was71 (9.1%) and 24 (33.8%) of the respondents sought treatment for infertility. A higher proportion of the respondents 482 (61.9%) had a positive attitude towards infertility while 297 (38.1%) had negative towards infertility. Treatment options reported by respondents included 561 (81.7%) medical, 549 (79.9%), 307 (39.4%) traditional and spiritual 205 (26.3%). Majority of the respondents had a good knowledge of infertility and its treatment options. However, the prevalence was low. There is a need for stakeholders to focus on health education programs targeted towards prevention and management of infertility.

Keywords: Infertility, Knowledge, Attitude, Prevalence,  Treatment