Male Social Representations regarding Family Planning

Abstract Objective: To know the social representations of men participating in a family planning program. Method: Exploratory, descriptive research, with qualitative approach, carried out in Campo Grande-MS. The participants were 54 men: 31 had already undergone vasectomy and 23 were intending to undergo the method. A structured form containing characterization data was used and an open interview was also conducted with the guiding question: “what is your opinion about family planning?” The collective subject discourse method and the Theory of social representations were used to organize the results. The research was approved by the ethics committee. Results: Of the participants, 47.9% were married and the mean age was 35.8 years (±7.23). The majority, 33.3%, have three children and a family income of two minimum wages (40.7%) (±1.25). The statements comprised six collective subject discourses, organized in positive social representations: satisfaction with vasectomy, controlling the number of children, satisfaction with the family composition and preservation of the partner’s health, and negative ones: fear related to the procedure and difficult access. Conclusion: The social representations of the participants were positive in relation to vasectomy, which demonstrates that some men postulate the definitive method of family planning, even if access still requires improvements. Keywords: Family planning; Vasectomy; Sexual; Reproductive health