Abstract

Infertility is one of the major health and social problems confronting individuals, couples, families and communities. However, there is significant breakthrough in the field of fertility through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) but evidence suggests that acceptability is low. Therefore, this study identifies factors influencing acceptability of ART among women attending fertility clinic in selected General Hospitals. This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design with a sample size of 251 which was selected through a purposive and convenience sampling techniques. A well-validated instrument with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranging from 0.72 to 0.74 was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Multiple Regression) were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study revealed that the respondents (80.2%) had high level of knowledge of ART with high acceptance (mean = 21.73; 72.4%).  About 22.8% of the total variance in the acceptability of ART was accounted for by age (R =.477, R² = .225, f(4,222) = 4.473; P = 0.000); and less than 0.01% of the total variance in the acceptability of ART was accounted for by level of education (R =0.061, R² = 0.009, f(3, 223) =0.366; P = 0.861). The study concluded that majority of the respondents had high knowledge of ART, and high acceptability of ART. Additionally, age was significantly related to acceptability of ART while level of education and family support had no influence. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended the age should be considered in developing intervention to increase acceptance of ART.

Keywords: Assisted Reproductive Technology, Acceptability of ART, fertility, Knowledge, Family Support.