Publication:

Understanding awareness and misconception of male infertility in South-Eastern India

Background People worldwide have many misconceptions and awareness regarding reproductive health and fertility because infertility is still a taboo subject among all people. The public seek medical and psychological counsel and assistance from health experts about male infertility. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the awareness and misconception about male infertility among general population of South-eastern part of India.

Methods The cross-sectional study was used. A total of 301 valid responses were received. Subjects were selected by convenient sampling method who are fulfilling the inclusive criteria. The structured questionnaire was developed in the google form and the link was shared among various groups.

Results The 78.7% of participants reported of being aware of male infertility. Most participants (63.1%) had a moderate level of awareness, 21.3% had good awareness and 15.6% showed a low level of awareness regarding male infertility. The mean misconception score was 2.42±1.32, signifying an overall low level of misconception. There is a negative but negligible relationship (r=-0.063) between awareness and misconception. A statistically significant association was observed with gender (χ²=9.517, p=0.009) and awareness whereas gender and marital status (p<0.05) were significantly associated (p<0.05) with the degree of misconception (χ²=16.914, p<0.001), (χ²=15.47, p=0.004) respectively.

Conclusions This study revealed moderate awareness but persistent misconceptions regarding male infertility, with gender differences which signifies need for targeted and culturally sensitive educational programme to dispel myths and promote shared responsibility in reproductive health.