Sociodemographic characteristics of the study respondents
We approached 790 men of reproductive age, and only 710 were eligible, we then interviewed 627 men as the sample size indicates, interviewed all the 627 men but 3 of the data collection tools did not bear any ID numbers and with incomplete information, these 3 forms were excluded during data cleaning.
We ended up with 624 clean data which was used during analysis.
Out of the 624 participants, 44.7% were adults, with only 4.8% being above the age of 60 with a mean age of 36.6, SD ± 11.3. Nearly half (42.5%) of the study participants had completed only primary education, while only 8.7% had attained tertiary education. More than half (55.1%) of the participants identified as Roman Catholics. The majority (76.1%) of the participants were married, and 89.7% reported having only one sexual partner.
Table 1: Showing the socio-demographic characteristics of Men in Otuke District between January to April 2023
Variable
|
Frequency (n=624)
|
Percentage (%)
|
Age in years
|
|
|
Young Adults (18-35 Years)
|
315
|
50.5
|
Middle-aged adults (36-50 Years)
|
279
|
44.7
|
Older Adults (51-69 Years)
|
30
|
4.8
|
The education level of the participants
|
|
|
No formal education
|
159
|
25.5
|
Completed Primary
|
265
|
42.5
|
Completed Secondary
|
146
|
23.4
|
Tertiary
|
54
|
8,7
|
Education level of partners
|
|
|
No formal education
|
285
|
45.7
|
Completed Primary
|
220
|
35.3
|
Completed Secondary
|
9
|
1.4
|
Tertiary
|
19
|
3.0
|
Religion
|
|
|
Christian Roman catholic
|
344
|
55.1
|
Christian Protestant
|
175
|
28.0
|
Muslim
|
20
|
3.2
|
Others
|
85
|
13.6
|
Marital status
|
|
|
Single
|
83
|
13.3
|
Married
|
475
|
76.1
|
Divorced
|
66
|
10.6
|
Number of Wives
|
|
|
One
|
500
|
89.7
|
2-5
|
63
|
10.1
|
More than 5
|
00
|
0
|
Available Source of income
|
|
|
Yes
|
311
|
49.8
|
No
|
313
|
50.2
|
Desired Number of Children
|
SD±0.596
|
|
0-3 Children
|
97
|
15.5
|
4-7
|
401
|
64.3
|
8 and Above
|
126
|
20.2
|
Use of vasectomy
Out of the 624 participants who were interviewed, only 2% had undergone a vasectomy
Knowledge on vasectomy
Results in Table 2 show that almost half (50.2%) of the participants were aware of how vasectomy works. Additionally, 54.6% knew that vasectomy is conducted as a minor surgery, and 51.0% were familiar with the mechanism of action of vasectomy.
Table 2: Showing the participant’s knowledge on Vasectomy among men in Otuke District between January to April 2023.
Variable
|
f (n=624)
|
(%)
|
Do you know how Vasectomy works?
|
|
|
Yes
|
313
|
50.2
|
No
|
311
|
49.8
|
Does Vasectomy require a minor surgery?
|
|
|
Yes
|
341
|
54.6
|
No
|
47
|
7.5
|
Not sure
|
236
|
37.8
|
Vasectomy is a contraceptive method by ligating the vas deference
|
|
|
Yes
|
318
|
51.0
|
No
|
36
|
5,8
|
Not sure
|
270
|
43.3
|
Ever used any male contraceptives
|
|
|
Yes
|
364
|
58.3
|
No
|
260
|
41.7
|
What are the male contraceptives you know
|
|
|
Condoms
|
535
|
85.7
|
Spermicide
|
6
|
1.0
|
Vasectomy
|
6
|
1.0
|
All the above
|
41
|
6.6
|
Perceptions of Men Towards Vasectomy
The results in Table 4 show that the general opinion among men regarding vasectomy was predominantly negative (63.5%). This indicates that the participants hold a negative perception of vasectomy. Out of the 624 participants surveyed, 43.1% and 9.1% perceive vasectomy as a form of castration, while 58.2% and 13.3% view it as conflicting with their cultural beliefs. Notably, a significant majority (82.8%) suggest that religion plays a major role in shaping the negative perception towards vasectomy. More than half (59.6%) of the participants see vasectomy as promoting promiscuity. Additionally, over 90% of the participants believe that men are the primary decision-makers in matters related to family planning. A considerable portion (69.7%) think that sterilization as a method of family planning should only be for women. Moreover, a majority (67.2%) of the participants believe that vasectomy reduces the likelihood of men marrying more than one wife if they choose this method. About half of the participants perceived that most men in Uganda would not accept vasectomy as a family planning method.
Table 3: Showing the different perceptions of participants towards vasectomy among men in Otuke District between January to April 2023.
Variable
|
N=624 (f)
|
(%)
|
Vasectomy to any man is like castration
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
57
|
9.1
|
Agree
|
269
|
43.1
|
Disagree
|
242
|
38.8
|
Strongly disagree
|
56
|
9.0
|
It is against my cultural belief for a man to practice Vasectomy
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
83
|
13.3
|
Agree
|
363
|
58.2
|
Disagree
|
151
|
24.2
|
Strongly Disagree
|
27
|
4.3
|
It is against my religious belief for a man to practice Vasectomy
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
274
|
43.9
|
Agree
|
243
|
38.9
|
Disagree
|
82
|
13.1
|
Strongly disagree
|
25
|
4.0
|
Vasectomy makes men more promiscuous
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
52
|
8.3
|
Agree
|
320
|
51.3
|
Disagree
|
224
|
35.9
|
Strongly disagree
|
28
|
4.5
|
Men should be the primary decision makers on Family planning
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
303
|
48.6
|
Agree
|
284
|
45.5
|
Disagree
|
33
|
5.3
|
Strongly disagree
|
4
|
0.6
|
Permanent sterilization should only be for women
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
145
|
23.2
|
Agree
|
290
|
46.5
|
Disagree
|
158
|
25.3
|
Strongly disagree
|
31
|
5.0
|
Vasectomy may be an effective family planning method
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
42
|
6.7
|
Agree
|
204
|
32.7
|
Disagree
|
266
|
42,6
|
Strongly disagree
|
112
|
17.9
|
Expertise for safe Vasectomy is not available in our setting
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
79
|
12.7
|
Agree
|
344
|
55.1
|
Disagree
|
182
|
29.2
|
Strongly disagree
|
19
|
3.0
|
Vasectomy curbs men’s ability to marry more wives
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
202
|
32.4
|
Agree
|
217
|
34.8
|
Disagree
|
184
|
29.5
|
Strongly disagree
|
21
|
3.4
|
Most men in Uganda will not accept Vasectomy
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
329
|
52.9
|
Agree
|
182
|
29.2
|
Disagree
|
105
|
16.8
|
Strongly disagree
|
8
|
1.1
|
I do not approve the use of Vasectomy
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
125
|
20.0
|
Agree
|
282
|
45.2
|
Disagree
|
151
|
24.2
|
Strongly disagree
|
66
|
10.6
|
I would not consider carrying out Vasectomy
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
285
|
45.7
|
Agree
|
140
|
22.4
|
Disagree
|
165
|
26.4
|
Strongly disagree
|
34
|
5.4
|
Men should not participate in Family planning
|
|
|
Strongly agree
|
10
|
1.6
|
Agree
|
39
|
6.3
|
Disagree
|
246
|
39.4
|
Strongly disagree
|
329
|
52.7
|
Factors associated with knowledge and perception of Vasectomy among men in multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the factors that are independently associated with the knowledge of Vasectomy. During the multivariate analysis, all statistically significant variables (p-value < 0.05) from the bivariate analysis were entered into a logistic regression model as independent variables with knowledge of vasectomy as the outcome variable (table 4).
The factors that remained statistically significant at multivariate analysis were; prior knowledge of Vasectomy being a form of Castration (P=0.036, OR 1.577 [1.03-2.14]); Vasectomy being an effective method of Contraception (P= 0.000, OR 2.654[1.55-4.56]), and the lack of knowledge causing a misconception (P=0.042, OR [1.545 (1.02-2.35]).
These factors were found to be significantly associated with knowing on Vasectomy.
Table 4: Factors associated with knowledge of Vasectomy at multivariate analysis among men in Otuke District between January to April 2023
Variable
|
COR (95% CI)
|
P-value
|
AOR (95% CI)
|
P-value
|
Education level of participants
|
|
|
|
|
Not Educated
|
1.499 (1.02-2.10)
|
0.019
|
1.105 (0.71-1.72)
|
0.658
|
Educated
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Available Source of Income
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
No
|
1.888 (1.37-2.59)
|
0.000
|
1.44 (0.95-2.17)
|
0.083
|
Sources of Information on Vasectomy
|
|
|
|
|
In-person
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Media
|
1.527 (0.99-2.35)
|
0.055
|
1.375 (0.85-2.22)
|
0.189
|
Vasectomy causes promiscuity
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
No
|
5.214(3.62-7.51)
|
0.000
|
1.073 (0.68-1.69)
|
0.758
|
Vasectomy is a form of Castration
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
0.572 (0.42-0.78)
|
0.001
|
1.577 (1.03-2.14)
|
0.036
|
No
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Vasectomy is an effective method of contraception
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.851 (1.32-2.59)
|
0.000
|
2.654 (1.55-4.56)
|
0.000
|
No
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Lack of knowledge causes misconception
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.760 (1.30-2.43)
|
0.001
|
1.545 (1.02-2.35)
|
0.042
|
No
|
1.00
|
|
1.00.
|
|
Vasectomy can be reversed
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
2.080 (1.23-3.53)
|
0.007
|
1.299 (0.74-2.29)
|
0.367
|
No
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
COR: crude odds ratio, AOR: adjusted odds ratio
Factors associated with the perception of Vasectomy among men in Otuke District
The factors that remained statistically significant at multivariate analysis were; prior knowledge of Vasectomy causing promiscuity (P=0.000, OR 3.187 [1.93-5.27]), prior information of Vasectomy being an effective method of Contraception (P= 0.000, OR 5.392 [2.61-11.14)]), and the lack of knowledge causing a misconception (P=0.042, OR 2.223 [1.37-3.61]).
These factors were found to be significantly associated with having a negative perception of Vasectomy. Some were positive influences while others were negative.
Table 5: Factors associated with the perception of Vasectomy at multivariate analysis among men in Otuke District between January to April 2023
Variable
|
COR (95% CI)
|
P-value
|
AOR (95% CI)
|
P-value
|
The education level of participants
|
|
|
|
|
Not Educated
|
1.499 (1.02-2.10)
|
0.019
|
1.105 (0.71-1.72)
|
0.658
|
Educated
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Available Source of Income
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
No
|
1.888 (1.37-2.59)
|
0.000
|
1.44 (0.95-2.17)
|
0.083
|
Sources of Information on Vasectomy
|
|
|
|
|
In-person
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Media
|
1.527 (0.99-2.35)
|
0.055
|
1.875 (1.03-3.40)
|
0.382
|
Vasectomy causes promiscuity
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
No
|
5.214(3.62-7.51)
|
0.000
|
3.187 (1.93-5.27)
|
0.000
|
Vasectomy is an effective method of contraception
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.851 (1.32-2.59)
|
0.000
|
5.392 (2.61-11.14)
|
0.000
|
No
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
Lack of knowledge causes misconception
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|
No
|
1.760 (1.30-2.43)
|
0.001
|
2.223 (1.37-3.61)
|
0.001
|
Vasectomy can be reversed
|
|
|
|
|
Yes
|
2.080 (1.23-3.53)
|
0.007
|
1.531 (0.72-3.25)
|
0.269
|
No
|
1.00
|
|
1.00
|
|