Are men ready to use thermal male contraception? Acceptability in two French populations: New fathers and new providers

Abstract

BackgroundSince the 1970s, international research has actively pursued hormonal male contraception (HMC) and, to a lesser extent, thermal male contraception (TMC). Although the efficacy of TMC has been confirmed in limited populations, its acceptability has not been studied in either potential users or potential prescribers.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive multicentre study of potential male users of TMC (new fathers) and potential prescribers of TMC (new providers) was conducted between November 2016 and February 2017.The participants completed a 3-part survey, and their responses were evaluated to i) determine their socio-demographic profiles; ii) identify personal experiences with contraception; and iii) gauge the participants’ knowledge, interest and preference for male contraception, particularly TMC. For new providers only, the survey included a fourth part to evaluate professional experience with male contraception.ResultsThe participation rate was 51% for new fathers (305 NFs) and 34% for new providers (300 NPs, including 97 men (male new providers, MNPs) and 203 women (female new providers, FNPs)). Only 3% of NFs and 15% of NPs knew about TMC (including 26% of the MNPs and 10% of the FNPs, p<0.01). After reading information on TMC, new fathers were significantly less willing to try TMC (29%) than were new providers (40%) (p<0.01). The 3 main advantages of TMC for the new fathers included the following factors: “natural” (52%), “without side effects” (38%) and “non-hormonal” (36%). The main disadvantages were “lengthy wear time” (56%), “daily undergarment wear” (43%) and “concern about possible discomfort” (39%).ConclusionsYoung male and female providers have limited knowledge of male contraception, are interested in further information and would generally prescribe TMC to their patients. Successful expansion of the use of male contraception, including TMC, would require distribution of better information to potential users and providers.

Assessing the Acceptability of Vasectomy as a Family Planning Option: A Qualitative Study with Men in the Kingdom of Eswatini

“…It was found, consistent with other studies conducted in SSA [39,40], that religion and religious beliefs influenced the acceptability of vasectomy. The participants referred to the Bible, claiming that it says they must reproduce and fill the earth.…”

Male contraception: where are we going and where have we been?

“…There are some small communities of men practising ‘do-it-yourself’ thermal treatments, either using a hot bath method or with a modified form of underwear to create ‘artificial cryptorchidism’. There is not much current active research; however, a recent French acceptability study reported that one-third of respondents showed interest in this method as a contraceptive 28…”

Health workers’ values and preferences regarding contraceptive methods globally: A systematic review

“…1 ). Of these, we included 41 articles reporting on values and preferences around contraceptive methods from the perspective of health workers in this review ( Table 1 ) [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] . The 41 articles capture values and preferences of 12,643 health workers from 27 countries.…”

“…However, one cross-sectional study noted that other health workers counseled on IUDs and considered the method safe [38] . Male methods such as vasectomy were explicitly mentioned in 2 studies from France and the United States: in general, male methods were not counseled on as often as contraceptive methods for females, and when compared to female sterilization, male sterilization was counseled on less frequently, though 57% of Fellowship in Family Planning (Ob/Gyn and family medicine physician trainee) respondents in the US reported that vasectomy was their preferred method of sterilization [ 19 , 43 ].…”