{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T03:01:35Z","timestamp":1787022095907,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,29]],"date-time":"2021-11-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1638144000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Research Foundation-Flanders","award":["GM274.15N"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GM274.15N"]}]},{"name":"Global Minds Fund Operational Grant"},{"name":"Commonwealth Scholarship"},{"name":"ScHARR Research Stimulation Fund","award":["312088"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["312088"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Infertility in Sub-Saharan Africa constitutes an important social and public health problem. Yet, there is a paucity of research on the experiences of men living with infertility, especially in West Africa. This study explored men\u2019s aetiological knowledge, views and experiences of infertility in the West Coast region of The Gambia, West Africa.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methodology<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An explorative qualitative study was conducted among men living in the rural and urban communities of the West Coast region of The Gambia using in-depth interviews. Data collection and analysis were performed concurrently, and thematic data analysis was an iterative process carried out using NVivo 11 Analysis Software.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Gambian men had generally poor knowledge of infertility, allocating it to God, spiritual powers and bodily (biomedical) factors. While societal norms meant that infertility was generally attributed to women, some men allocated male-factor infertility to poor sperm quality and impotence. Infertility threatened participants\u2019 sense of masculinity and resulted in psychosocial distress, including stigma, feelings of isolation, and low self-esteem.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Normative gendered frameworks of infertility result in high levels of female responsibilisation in the Gambian context. Yet men diagnosed with infertility experience significant, often unrecognized, psychological and social distress. We therefore call for increased attention to male-factor infertility, and the promotion of male engagement with infertility-care and services, both of which are essential for successfully addressing infertility and it\u2019s psychosocial consequences in The Gambia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0260084","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,29]],"date-time":"2021-11-29T13:30:59Z","timestamp":1638192659000},"page":"e0260084","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Men and infertility in The Gambia: Limited biomedical knowledge and awareness discourage male involvement and exacerbate gender-based impacts of infertility"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3140-0771","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Susan","family":"Dierickx","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7281-4036","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kelvin Onyango","family":"Oruko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ed","family":"Clarke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sainey","family":"Ceesay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4387-8871","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Allan","family":"Pacey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4736-8465","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Julie","family":"Balen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0260084.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"623","DOI":"10.1093\/humrep\/deq373","article-title":"Mama and papa nothing\u201d: living with infertility among an urban population in Kigali, Rwanda","volume":"26","author":"N Dhont","year":"2011","journal-title":"Hum Reprod"},{"key":"pone.0260084.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1093\/humupd\/dmv016","article-title":"Infertility around the globe: New thinking on gender, reproductive technologies and global movements in the 21st century","volume":"21","author":"MC Inhorn","year":"2015","journal-title":"Hum Reprod Update"},{"key":"pone.0260084.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0211634","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0211634","article-title":"\u2018We are always desperate and will try anything to conceive\u2019: The convoluted and dynamic process of health seeking among women with infertility in the West Coast Region of The Gambia","volume":"14","author":"S Dierickx","year":"2019","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"pone.0260084.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1515\/pophzn-2018-0003","article-title":"Missing men, missing infertility: The enactment of sex\/gender in surveys in low- and middle-income countries","volume":"15","author":"J Fledderjohann","year":"2018","journal-title":"Popul Horizons"},{"key":"pone.0260084.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.1080\/13648470.2011.615911","article-title":"Suffering of Childless Women in Bangladesh: the Intersection of Social Identities of Gender and Class.","volume":"18","author":"P Nahar","year":"2011","journal-title":"Anthropol Med"},{"key":"pone.0260084.ref006","first-page":"77","article-title":"epidemiological and socio-cultural aspects of infertility in resource-poor settings","volume":"3","author":"Dhont N. 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