Will Australian men use male hormonal contraception? A survey of a postpartum population.

AIM To survey the attitudes of a population of Australian men to potential use of male hormonal contraception (MHC). DESIGN Survey of male partners of women who had recently given birth. Men were approached while visiting their female partners on the ward. PARTICIPANTS 118 out of 148 Australian-born English-speaking men who were approached. SETTING Postnatal ward of Monash Medical Centre (a public teaching hospital in Melbourne), between October 2000 and April 2001. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Attitudes towards potential use of MHC, rated on a five-point scale. RESULTS 89/118 men surveyed (75.4%; 95% Cl, 67.7%-83.2%) indicated that they would consider trying MHC if it were available. The three most popular choices for method of administration of MHC were (in descending order) an oral pill, a three-monthly injection, or a two-yearly injection. A statistically significant association was found between acceptability of vasectomy and acceptability of MHC (70.5% of men who indicated they would try MHC [MHC "triers"] found vasectomy acceptable versus 44.5% of MHC "non-triers"; P = 0.011). Triers reported a higher rate of approval of MHC by their female partners than non-triers (79.8% v 13.8%, respectively; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS MHC appears to be acceptable to a majority of Australian men when surveyed in a postpartum context. Attitudes of men towards existing male contraception, as well as the attitudes of their partners, appear to exert a strong influence on acceptability of MHC.