TDNet Discover

Background: The primary male contraceptives currently available in the United States are male condoms, coitus interruptus, and vasectomies, which is unacceptable when compared to the plethora of female contraceptive options. With unplanned pregnancies being as common as they are in the United States, current forms of birth control are clearly insufficient. Researchers believe that gauging interest in existing and upcoming contraceptive methods available to men is needed in order to close the identified gap between male and female contraceptives. In doing so, this will increase access and compliance to family planning care, and therefore hopefully decrease the rates of elective terminations and the number of children added to the foster care system every year. Purpose: This research is intended to survey American males 18-35 years old on their opinions towards current and upcoming male contraceptive options. This includes their interest in using newer birth control options, willingness to adhere to proposed regimens, attitudes towards potential side effects, and the types of contraceptives they would be interested in. Methods: Researchers utilized a snowball sampling technique to disperse the survey, by posting the SurveyMonkey link on various social media websites and asking viewers to share it to their personal accounts. Inclusion criteria of participants included American nationality, male sex, ages 18-35, and sexually active with partners capable of impregnation. After approval from the South College Institutional Review Board, the survey was open for 6 weeks from April 20 to June 6, 2023. At the conclusion of the research period, survey data was extracted by researchers and analyzed by an independent statistician via a sample size calculation, descriptive statistics, qualitative analysis, and Pearson correlation. v Results: Of the 622 people who began the survey, a total of 341 individuals were able to meet all inclusion criteria and complete the survey to its end. Survey results were loaded into the Intellectus Statistics software for evaluation, and survey responses were initially grouped by age. Then answers were cross coded depending on additional factors such as respondent’s education level, region of residence, and interest in fathering a child in the future. A Pearson correlation analysis was conducted and examined using the Holm correction to adjust for multiple comparisons, and the Cohen standard was used to evaluate the strength of these relationships. Conclusion: This is the first study to report the attitudes and opinions of American males toward male contraceptive options with an externally valid sample. Overall, over 70% of survey participants reported they were interested in trying newer forms of male contraceptives, 80% stated they at least somewhat wished there were more reliable male contraceptive options available, and 90.32% believed the prevention of unwanted pregnancies should be an equally shared responsibility between men and women. Based on these findings, it is clear that the vast majority of sexually active American men are wanting to take on a greater responsibility in terms of family planning. In order to achieve this, further research is needed to increase access to safe, effective, and reliable male contraceptive options