Studies have suggested that disparities exist in the treatment of infertility. Numerous factors may contribute to this, however patients factors such as beliefs and awareness of infertility remains understudied. We sought to measure men's awareness and beliefs about infertility in two socioeconomically different primary care clinics. Cross-sectional survey of men at two primary care clinics, an urban county hospital and a private university-affiliated practice. Men self-administered questions about men's health issues. The survey included socio-demographic items and independently developed questions about men's knowledge and attitudes surrounding male infertility, erectile dysfunction, and testosterone deficiency syndrome. Pearson's chi-squared test were utilized with significance at 0.05. 83 men were included in the study: 52 at the county hospital and 31 at the private clinic. Men at the county clinic were less likely to have heard of infertility (69% vs. 97%, P=0.002) or report being “very” or “somewhat” familiar with the condition (37% vs. 61%, P=0.03). Similarly, county patients were less likely to be able to identify the correct definition of infertility from a list of four choices (50% vs. 87%, P=0.0008). Meanwhile, more men in the county clinic reported that they “cared about being able to have children” (63% vs. 43%, P=0.05). County clinic men were just as likely as a private clinic population to report “infertility should be treated” (73% vs. 58%, P=0.15), while more men at the county clinic report “being concerned about infertility” (60% vs. 23%, P=0.001). Finally, men at the county hospital were more likely to desire treatment if they were diagnosed with infertility (58% vs. 35%, P=0.04). Awareness and knowledge of infertility was significantly worse in the county clinic, which may contribute to disparities previously described. However, county clinic men report being more concerned and more likely to desire treatment for this condition.
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Apr 21, 2016
Harriet Ribbons 
Open Access
