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

Abstract

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.

A study on assessment of knowledge towards family planning practices among the couples of reproductive age group in the field practice area of Prathima institute of medical sciences, Karimnagar

“…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. 18 Similarly, in a study conducted by a Mahat et al majority of respondents accepted vasectomy as the permanent method of contraception while only 45.5% said that sexual functions return to normal following vasectomy. 19 It has been observed that except the domain of condom and permanent methods, female scored higher knowledge as compared with males, however there was no statistically significant difference between the overall knowledge scores (18.67±7.798 vs. 18.41±7.177).…”

Awareness and practice patterns of family planning methods among antenatal women in Indian community: Are we hitting the bull′s eye?

“…Garg et al, in their cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey to get insight into apathy of men toward non-scalpel vasectomy, also suggested that circulation of information about family planning by word of mouth is of paramount importance. [3] Tuladhar et al, in their cross-sectional descriptive study of awareness and practice of family planning methods, also concluded that electronic media and friends play a vital role in spreading the awareness. [4] There were 66 out of 81 respondents in our study who were not using contraceptives because of certain reasons; inadequate knowledge and fear of side effects were the most cited reasons for this.…”

Vasectomy: a study of attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and practices among literate men in Punjab, India

“…33% said that they think women themselves want to undergo sterilization instead of putting their husband under the knife. 6 However, this decline does not undermine the importance of continued efforts to promote family planning measures 4 and thereby Ministry of health and family welfare, government of India has been promoting family planning programmes in the country. There are number of contraceptive measures/products available under the purview of family planning and all the services are provided free of cost to the population through the public health facilities at the district, block and community levels.…”

“…NSV after even being a simple and safe method has failed to achieve its goal. 4 Thus the questionnaire based study was done to get insight of the men about their knowledge and attitude towards various contraceptives methods especially vasectomy and understanding some of the factors influencing the vasectomy acceptance as a contraceptive method.…”