Assessment of needs of men for decision support on male sterilization.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the needs of men for decision support on male sterilization.


METHODS
Forty-two men facing a decision about undergoing a vasectomy or not and 11 physicians who perform vasectomy were interviewed to assess the sources of difficulty in this decision-making process. On the day of their vasectomy, 209 men completed the decisional conflict scale (DCS) and a knowledge test.


RESULTS
Sources of difficulty about the decision to have a vasectomy or not included: lack of information about risks and benefits, clarification of personal values concerning parenthood after the vasectomy, and undue pressure from partner. On the day of their vasectomy, only 1.9% (95% confidence interval 0.5-4.8%) of men had unresolved decisional conflict. However, most men scored poorly on their knowledge test mean score (58.2+/-13.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
Men facing the decision about having a vasectomy or not would benefit from a decision support intervention that would address conflicting information and clarification of values.


CONCLUSIONS
Health professionals should provide decision support to men facing the decision about having a vasectomy or not. A decision aid on male sterilization would be useful in this respect.
Baldé
Abdoul
A
PRISM-Guinée, BP 3064 Conakry, Guinea.
Légaré
France
F
Labrecque
Michel
M
D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010819:Physician's Role; D011792:Quebec; D014659:Vasectomy