Experiences of vasectomy: a phenomenological study

A Systematic Review on Use of Medicinal Plants for Male Infertility Treatment

Objective: Male infertility is involved in about half of the casess of infertility and the only sole reason for infertility in 20%-30% of the cases. Following the recent interest in the use of medicinal plants, scientists have sought to clarify their effects on male fertility. This review aimed to summarize the results of studies available to determine the effectiveness, safety and mechanism of herbal treatments in the improvement of male fertility.

Materials and methods: Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published during 2000-2020. Studies were only included if they adhered to the CONSORT checklist. The methodological quality of the selected studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.

Results: Finally, 20 studies recruiting a total of 1519 individuals were reviewed. These studies compared the effects of eleven different medicinal plants, i.e. ginseng, saffron, Nigella sativa, palm pollen, ADOFON, TOPALAF, sesame, and Mucuna pruriens, on male fertility with those of placebo. All studies (except one) confirmed the beneficial effects of medicinal plants on the improvement of sperm and reproductive parameters and thus male infertility.

Conclusion: The existing RCTs indicated the positive effects of medicinal plants on male fertility. Therefore, in order to develop a novel approach to the treatment of male infertility, further clinical trials are warranted to determine the maximum dosage and duration of treatment with herbal medicines and evaluate any potential side effects of such interventions.

Effects of date palm pollen on fertility: research proposal for a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Over 10-15% of couples in different countries are infertile. Male infertility is a contributing factor and the only cause of infertility in respectively 50% and 20-30% of all cases of infertility. According to previous research, micro-elements isolated from date palm pollen (DPP), e.g. estrogen and sterols, may enhance male and female fertility. DPP has also been reported to improve sperm parameters including sperm motility and viability, acrosome reaction, and lipid peroxidation. This article may justify the need for a future systematic review and meta-analysis about the effects of DPP on the reproductive system and DPP's ability to enhance fertility. It will then describe the methodology of such a study.

MAIN TEXT

A comprehensive search of relevant randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials will be performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Central, ProQuest, and Google Scholar databases. Two authors will independently assess the eligibility of the studies and consult the third author in cases of disagreement. The risk of bias of the randomized controlled trials and animal studies will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk of bias tool, respectively. This study will raise no ethical issues as it will review the findings of previous research. The results are intended to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Opinions and Attitudes About Vasectomy of Married Couples Living in Turkey

This study was conducted as a descriptive study, designed to determine the opinions and attitudes of married couples living in Turkey about vasectomy. The sample consisted of 350 women. Researchers used a questionnaire to collect data. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were used. The results showed that 14% of women and 43.0% of men were of the opinion that undergoing a vasectomy procedure was a sin. Chi-square analysis determined statistically significant differences between the male and female groups ( p < .05). More than 88.0% of the men were not willing to have vasectomy and 35.4% thought that vasectomy had a negative effect on marriage and sexual health. In addition, 58.9% thought that vasectomy had a negative effect on men's health. Women were more likely than men to see vasectomy as merely a cultural taboo instead of a sin. Sociocultural factors, such as ideas that contraception is the woman's responsibility, that sterilized men lose status in society, or that sterilized men lose authority in the family, as well as misconceptions about vasectomy such as concerns about sexual functioning, psychological effects, and effects on physical strength, were determined to be the main barriers for vasectomy use in Turkish culture. The study recommends determining strategies for overcoming sociocultural barriers by raising awareness and increasing the utilization of vasectomy. Couple-specific family planning programs can make an important contribution toward improving awareness of the benefits of vasectomy.

Experiences of Individuals With Liver Cirrhosis: A Qualitative Study

Liver cirrhosis is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Health-related quality of life in cirrhotic patients is affected by the disease's complications. The purpose of this article was to describe the experiences of individuals with liver cirrhosis during critical illness. The aim was to investigate the disease experiences of liver cirrhosis. The authors conducted a phenomenological qualitative study, using a Colaizzi's seven-step method. Ten participants with liver cirrhosis participated in in-depth interviews. The data from this analysis were transformed into 119 codes, 11 subthemes, and 4 main themes including (1) confronting tension, (2) needs, (3) spirituality, and (4) interaction and effective communication. Findings could be used as a basis for information and emotional and social support interventions, as these can be effective in promoting adjustment to complications of cirrhosis by suitable interventions. Adequate adjustment through adaptation leads to successful completion of treatment and improved quality of life.

A Review of 10 Years of Vasectomy Programming and Research in Low-Resource Settings

Vasectomy is a highly effective and safe contraceptive method for couples who want to stop childbearing, but only 2.4% of men around the world use this method. We conducted an extensive review of the vasectomy research literature and programmatic reports, published between April 2005 and April 2015, to synthesize barriers and facilitators to vasectomy adoption. Of the more than 230 documents initially retrieved in our search, we ultimately included 75 documents in our review and synthesized the findings according to the Supply-Enabling Environment-Demand (SEED) Programming Model. Regarding promoting demand for vasectomy services, we found there was a general lack of awareness about the method among both men and women, which often fueled erroneous assumptions about how vasectomy affects men. Several types of programmatic activities directly addressed knowledge gaps and negative misperceptions, including community-based and mass media communications, employer-based promotion, and group counseling. For supply of services, the lack of or inaccurate knowledge about vasectomy was also prevalent among providers, particularly among community-based health workers. Programmatic activities to improve service delivery included the use of evidence-based vasectomy techniques such as no-scalpel vasectomy, whole-site trainings, task shifting, cascade training, and mobile outreach. Finally, programmatic approaches to building a more enabling environment included engagement of governments and other community and religious leaders as well as campaigns with gender transformative messaging that countered common myths and encouraged men's positive engagement in family planning and reproductive health. In summary, a successful vasectomy program is comprised of the mutually reinforcing components of continual demand for services and access to and supply of well-trained providers. In addition, there is an underlying need for enabling policies within the cultural and gender environments that extend beyond vasectomy and include men not just as default partners of female family planning clients but as equal beneficiaries of family planning and reproductive health programs in their own right. Accelerating progress toward meaningful integration of vasectomy into a comprehensive contraceptive method mix is only possible when political and financial will are aligned and support the logistical and promotional activities of a male reproductive health agenda.