Medical College, Aga Khan University Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan, PO Box 3500.
BMC Public Health. 2011 Oct 4;11:760. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-760.
The reported prevalence of infertility in Pakistan is approximately 22% with 4% primary and 18% secondary infertility. Infertility is not only a medical but also a social problem in our society as cultural customs and perceived religious dictums may equate infertility with failure on a personal, interpersonal, or social level. It is imperative that people have adequate knowledge about infertility so couples can seek timely medical care and misconceptions can be rectified. We aim to assess the knowledge, perception and myths regarding infertility and suggest ways to improve it.
A cross-sectional survey was carried out by interviewing a sample of 447 adults who were accompanying the patients at two tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. They were interviewed one-on-one with the help of a pretested questionnaire drafted by the team after a thorough literature review and in consultation with infertility specialists.
The correct knowledge of infertility was found to be limited amongst the participants. Only 25% correctly identified when infertility is pathological and only 46% knew about the fertile period in women's cycle. People are misinformed that use of IUCD (53%) and OCPs (61%) may cause infertility. Beliefs in evil forces and supernatural powers as a cause of infertility are still prevalent especially amongst people with lower level of education. Seeking alternative treatment for infertility remains a popular option for 28% of the participant as a primary preference and 75% as a secondary preference. IVF remains an unfamiliar (78%) and an unacceptable option (55%).
Knowledge about infertility is limited in the population and a lot of misconceptions and myths are prevalent in the society. Alternative medicine is a popular option for seeking infertility treatment. The cultural and religious perspective about assisted reproductive technologies is unclear, which has resulted in its reduced acceptability.
据报道，巴基斯坦的不孕患病率约为 22%，其中 4%为原发性不孕，18%为继发性不孕。不孕不仅是一个医学问题，也是我们社会中的一个社会问题，因为文化习俗和被认为的宗教教义可能将不孕等同于个人、人际或社会层面的失败。人们必须对不孕有足够的了解，以便夫妇能够及时寻求医疗护理，并纠正误解。我们旨在评估人们对不孕的知识、认知和误解，并提出改善的方法。
通过在巴基斯坦卡拉奇的两家三级保健医院对 447 名成年患者的陪同者进行横断面调查来进行。在经过彻底的文献复习并与不孕专家协商后，研究小组帮助他们一对一地使用预测试问卷进行访谈。
发现参与者对不孕的正确认识有限。只有 25%的人正确识别出何时不孕是病理性的，只有 46%的人知道女性周期中的排卵期。人们错误地认为使用宫内节育器（53%）和口服避孕药（61%）可能导致不孕。相信邪恶势力和超自然力量是导致不孕的原因仍然很普遍，尤其是在教育程度较低的人群中。寻求替代疗法治疗不孕仍然是 28%的参与者的首选，其中 75%作为次要选择。体外受精（IVF）仍然是一种不熟悉的（78%）和不可接受的选择（55%）。
人们对不孕的了解有限，社会上存在很多误解和误解。替代医学是寻求不孕治疗的流行选择。人们对辅助生殖技术的文化和宗教观点尚不清楚，这导致其接受度降低。
