Potential impact of hormonal male contraception: crosscultural implications for development of novel preparations

The prospect of a hormonal male contraceptive is no longer distant, Data on the potential impact of this improvement in contraceptive provision, howev er, is limited, particularly between different cultures, We have therefore carried out a multi-centre study to assess men's attitudes to proposed nove l hormonal methods, Questionnaire-based structured interviews were administ ered to men in Edinburgh, Cape Town, Shanghai and Dong Kong, Approximately 450 men were interviewed in Edinburgh, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and a slight ly larger group (n = 493) in Cape Town to give samples (n > 150) of black, coloured and white men. Knowledge of existing male and female methods of co ntraception was high in all centres and groups. The majority of men welcome d a new hormonal method of contraception, 44-83% stating that they would us e a male contraceptive pill. Overall, a pill was more acceptable than an in jectable form (most popularly given at 3-6 month intervals); long-acting im plants were least so except in Shanghai, Familiarity with comparable female methods appeared to influence acceptability, for both oral and injectable methods, Dong Kong was the only centre where a male method (condom) was cur rently the most commonly used; men there appeared to rate the convenience o f condoms highly while being least likely to think that they provided effec tive protection against pregnancy compared to other centres, and were least enthusiastic about novel male methods, The acceptability of potential male hormonal methods of contraception was high in some groups but showed wide variability, determining factors including cultural background and current contraceptive usage, These results suggest that the emerging emphasis that men should have greater involvement in family planning will be substantiate d when appropriate contraceptive methods become available.