Knowledge, Perception, Myths and Health Seeking Behaviour on Infertility Among Men and Women Attending Selected Hospitals in Ogun State, Nigeria

Background: Infertility is medically defined as the inability to achieve a pregnancy after a year or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. It causes great worry and sorrow for many couples in Africa, especially for the women. Medical evidence shows that men and women usually have the same rates of infertility. This study therefore investigated the knowledge, perception, myths and health seeking behaviour on infertility among men and women attending selected hospitals in Ogun state, Nigeria. Methods: The study employed descriptive cross-sectional design. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 272 participants for the study. A 70-item validated semi-structured questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.77 was used to collect data. The knowledge variable was measures on 27-point rating score and perception was measured on 27-point scale. The health seeking behaviour was measured on 9-point scale. Frequency, correlation, and linear regression analysis were conducted to give statistical responses to the research questions and hypotheses using IBM-SPSS version 25. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 33.27 ±8.7years and 204(75%) of the respondents were female. Most 172(63.2%) of the respondents were of the Christian faith, 149(54.8) of the respondents had a tertiary education, less than half 131(48.2%) of the respondents were self-employed and majority of the respondents were married 220(80.9%). The respondents’ knowledge on infertility measured on a 27points knowledge scale, rating showed a mean score of 14.81±3.48. The respondents’ perception on infertility measured on a 27-point rating scale, showed a mean of 14.45±3.52, and the respondents’ health seeking behaviour was measured on a 9-points scale rating with a respondents mean score of 5.20±1.97. Majority 238(87.5%) of the respondents knew that infertility can be prevented, of those who stated that infertility can be prevented reported the following means, health education on reproduction 225(94.5%), fertility awareness 226 (95%), and early treatment of sexually transmitted disease 236(99.1%) Majority 209(76.8%) of the respondents knew that infertility can be treated. Less than half 100(36.8%) of the respondents disagreed that infertility is not a serious problem, while 91(33.5%) opposed to the idea that infertility is only serious in African society. The knowledge and health seeking behaviour (r=0.22; p=0.00) (R=0.22; R2=0.04; p<0.05), perception and health-seeking behaviour (r=0.14; p=0.02) (R=0.14; R2=0.02; p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion the respondents had adequate knowledge and perception of infertility. Majority of the respondents’ health seeking behaviour included the use of traditional and orthodox medicine. Majority of the respondents had poor health-seeking behaviour.