Nonscalpel Vasectomy as Family Planning Method: A Battle Yet to Be Conquered

Though nonscalpel vasectomy (NSV) technique was introduced in India in 1992 to increase male participation in family planning, it has failed to get adequate momentum and to achieve its goal. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey to get insight into apathy of men towards NSV. The study included 428 respondents. Most of the respondents (97.4%) were aware of NSV as a method for permanent male sterilization. The majority of them (97.2%) knew that NSV is done without any charge and cash incentive is given to the NSV client after the procedure. Though 68.0% respondents agreed that permanent sterilization is a possible option for them, only 34.1% respondents were willing to adopt NSV as a method of family planning. Fear of surgical procedure (40.7%), permanent nature of procedure (22.2%), and religious belief (19.0%) were the common reasons for unwillingness to adopt NSV. We conclude that there is a need to design and develop need-based information, education and communication (IEC) strategy to bridge the existing information gap among the eligible couples regarding NSV to improve its adoption. Involvement of community leaders and satisfied clients and utilization of television and radio would enhance the effectiveness of such interventions. 1. Introduction Nonscalpel vasectomy (NSV) is a modified and sophisticated technique of vasectomy that requires no incision but only a small puncture and no stitches [1]. This is an easier and faster procedure and causes minimal damage to tissues. This is a safe and simple procedure that can be performed in low-resource settings [2]. NSV technique was introduced in India in 1992 to increase male participation in family planning [3]. Despite being a simple and safe method, NSV seems to have failed to achieve its goal. According to the National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3), the current acceptance of NSV in India has declined from 1.9% to 1% in NFHS-2 [4]. This questionnaire-based survey was conducted to get insight into apathy of men towards NSV and their current family planning practices. 2. Methods Study Design Cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey. Setting Hospital-based survey in a tertiary teaching hospital of north India. Sample Size Sample size was calculated using the following formula. Considering 50% awareness of population about NSV , sample size was calculated to be 384 with 95% confidence level and 5% precision of estimate : Participants Healthy male attendants (aged 18–50 years) of the patients admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital of north India. The participants were married,