title: Experience of non-scalpel vasectomy in a rural area of Tamil Nadu.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Only 0.7% of men participate in the sterilization programme in Tamil Nadu. Various strategies were adopted to achieve a target of 10%. We aimed to assess the motivational strategies adopted by the health staff of Sathya Vijayanagaram block of Thiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu to improve the acceptance of non-scalpel vasectomy among the beneficiaries and to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the acceptors of the technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative study, conducted in November-December 2010, involved in-depth interviews of the health staff of Cheyyar Health Unit district. All those who accepted non-scalpel vasectomy between 2007 and 2010 were interviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Early identification of targets and sustained motivation through a team approach, supported by administrative arrangements and intense information-education-communication activities, resulted in non-scalpel vasectomy contributing to 13% of all sterilizations. Acceptors were men from lower socioeconomic strata.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The strategies adopted by the health system have contributed to the acceptance of non-scalpel vasectomy in the remote villages of a block in Tamil Nadu. This endeavour may be replicated in other districts of Tamil Nadu and others states of India to achieve the goals set for population control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Family Welfare Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sivagnanam
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, sarkarsonaligh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sonali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine.
authors.forename: Ganesh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine.
authors.forename: Sitanshu Sekhar
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kar
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009313:National Health Programs; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014659:Vasectomy / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*