Kruglova Katya, Gelgoot Eden Noah, Chan Peter, Lo Kirk, Rosberger Zeev, Bélanger Emilie, Kazdan Jordana, Robins Stephanie, Zelkowitz Phyllis
Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Am J Mens Health. 2021 Sep-Oct;15(5):15579883211049027. doi: 10.1177/15579883211049027.
Male infertility presents a public health concern. As most men wish to become fathers, it is important to increase men's awareness of infertility risk factors. We developed a mobile health application (mHealth app), , to promote men's reproductive health. This study evaluates whether use of the app led to increased knowledge of infertility risk factors, and whether knowledge change was associated with participants' sociodemographic characteristics and/or app usage. Participants were recruited between August and October 2020. Eligibility criteria included: identified as male; 18-45 years old; childless; no infertility history; able to read and write in English/French; had internet access. We assessed participants' fertility knowledge before and after app use. App usage data were captured during the 2-week intervention period. Our sample included 49 men aged 18-45. Seventy-eight percent of participants had not previously sought fertility information. Participants viewed on average 75% of the app's articles, and 96% of participants said the app increased their fertility knowledge. Before app use, 55% of men said they were aware of infertility risk factors, compared to 96% after app use. Men correctly identified more risk factors after app use compared to before, (48) = 8.28, < .001. Participants' sociodemographic characteristics and amount of app usage were not associated with knowledge change. This study provides evidence of the feasibility of an mHealth app to improve men's awareness of infertility risk factors. Given the positive relationship between male reproductive health and overall health, increased awareness of infertility risk factors may lead to men's improved overall health.
男性不育是一个公共卫生问题。由于大多数男性都希望成为父亲，因此提高男性对不育风险因素的认识非常重要。我们开发了一款移动健康应用程序（mHealth应用）来促进男性生殖健康。本研究评估使用该应用程序是否能增加对不育风险因素的了解，以及知识的变化是否与参与者的社会人口学特征和/或应用程序的使用情况相关。参与者于2020年8月至10月招募。纳入标准包括：男性；年龄在18 - 45岁之间；无子女；无不育史；能够用英语/法语读写；有网络接入。我们在应用程序使用前后评估了参与者的生育知识。在为期2周的干预期内收集应用程序使用数据。我们的样本包括49名年龄在18 - 45岁之间的男性。78%的参与者此前未寻求过生育信息。参与者平均浏览了该应用程序75%的文章，96%的参与者表示该应用程序增加了他们的生育知识。在使用应用程序之前，55%的男性表示他们知道不育风险因素，而使用应用程序后这一比例为96%。与使用应用程序之前相比，男性在使用后正确识别出更多的风险因素，(48) = 8.28， <.001。参与者的社会人口学特征和应用程序使用量与知识变化无关。本研究为mHealth应用程序提高男性对不育风险因素的认识的可行性提供了证据。鉴于男性生殖健康与整体健康之间的积极关系，提高对不育风险因素的认识可能会改善男性的整体健康状况。
