Men's Knowledge of Vasectomy and Its Associated Factors in Debre Tabor Town, Northwest Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose: Even though vasectomy is one of the safest, simplest, and most effective family planning methods available for men, it is one of the least used contraceptive methods in the developing world, including Ethiopia. The goal of this study was to assess the level of knowledge towards vasectomy and its associated factors among married men in Debre Tabor Town.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 5-25, 2019. A total of 413 married men participated and selected by simple random sampling. Data was entered using EpiData version 4.2 and analyzed by SPSS version 23. A bivariable and multivariable logistic regression model was carried out. Finally, variables having a P-value of <0.05 at 95% CI were considered as statistically significant.

Results: In this study, 38.5% of men had an adequate level of knowledge about vasectomy. Multivariable logistic regression showed that an educational status of secondary education and college and above (AOR=4.70, 95% CI=1.26-17.55; and AOR=8.36, 95% CI=2.41-28.97, respectively), having four or more alive children (AOR=0.51, 95% CI=0.29-0.89), and positive attitude (AOR=2.47, 95% CI=1.58-3.86) were significantly associated with knowledge of vasectomy.

Conclusion: Knowledge of married men towards vasectomy was relatively low. Educational status, number of children, and attitude were statistically significant with the men's knowledge about vasectomy. Emphasis should therefore be put on improving the educational status of men and positively changing the male upbringing culture right from their childhood which will also improve their attitude towards vasectomy in the future.