Making Vasectomy Services More Acceptable to Men

The results of an operations research project that tested 2 models of vasectomy service delivery in Colombia show that although clinics serving only males performed a higher monthly average of vasectomies than did clinics serving men in a mixed male-female context (12 vs 9) that difference was not statistically significant. In both types of experimental clinics specially trained personnel offered vasectomies and other male services that were advertised and promoted; as a result those clinics performed an average of almost twice as many vasectomies/month as did control clinics that had a traditional female orientation (10 vs 5). The number of vasectomies performed during the project increased by nearly 120% in the experimental clinics and by 59% in the control clinics. Contrary to expectations clients of the exclusively male clinics were no more satisfied with the services they received or with their vasectomies than were clients of the mixed clinics or the control clinics. (authors) (summaries in SPA FRE)