Publications

Despite its reliability, vasectomy remains an underutilized family planning choice amongmen, being prevalent in only a handful of countries. Globally, its use stands at 2%, withsub-Saharan Africa reporting less than 100,000 cases by 2019 and a mere 0.4% utilization inUganda. To investigate this, a cross-sectional community-based study was conducted toscrutinize the factors influencing the acceptance of vasectomy among married men inKiziranfumbi sub-county, Kikuube district. Three parishes—Bulimya, Munteme, andKidoma—were chosen, and 384 married men residing in the area for over six months wereselected through systematic random sampling. The majority fell within the 21-30 age range(30.2%), with the Banyoro tribe comprising 66.4%, Catholics at 53.9%, primary educationlevel at 70.6%, and 82.6% engaged in peasant farming. Monogamous marriages (69%) wereprevalent, lasting between 5-25 years (69%), and with less than five children (50.8%). While85.9% were aware of vasectomy, sources of information varied—32.6% from health workersand 25.3% from family and friends. Misconceptions persisted, with 52.1% uncertain aboutits impact on sexual function and 19.3% mistaking it for castration. Cultural influencesloomed large, with 45.8% citing cultural beliefs as influencing their decision, 35.7%considering it culturally unacceptable, and 38.8% labeling it taboo. Furthermore, 42.2%believed vasectomy diminished men’s societal role. The study revealed a generally lowlevel of knowledge (mean 2.1189, SD 0.38994), a high prevalence of negative attitudes(mean 3.1289, SD 0.30335), and strong cultural beliefs (mean 2.8620, SD 0.58887) againstvasectomy. However, despite these barriers, 46.6% expressed an intention to opt forvasectomy, influenced significantly by knowledge (P 0.011) and cultural beliefs (P 0.000),contributing to 51.5% of the observed intention to uptake vasectomy. Addressing thesehurdles will require widespread vasectomy awareness campaigns through health education,with a focus on male involvement in family planning to enhance the acceptance and uptakeof vasectomy as a viable choice.Keywords: associated factors, vasectomy, family planning