Are men ready to use thermal male contraception? Acceptability in two French populations: New fathers and new providers

Marie Amouroux (1) , Roger Mieusset (2) , Raoul Desbriere (3) , Pierre Opinel (4) , Gilles Karsenty (5) , Marine Paci (6, 7) , Sara Fernandes (8) , Blandine Courbiere (6, 9) , Jeanne Perrin (6, 9)

1 AMU SMPM MED - Aix-Marseille Université - École de médecine
2 Centre de stérilité masculine, Service d'urologie-andrologie
3 Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, Pôle Parents Enfants,Hôpital Saint-Joseph,
4 Centre Hospitalier du Pays d'Aix
5 Chirurgie urologique et transplantation rénale [Hôpital de la Conception - APHM]
6 Centre Clinico-Biologique d’Assistance Médicale à la Procréation - CECOS [Hôpital de la Conception - APHM]
7 MMG - Marseille medical genetics - Centre de génétique médicale de Marseille
8 Laboratoire de Santé Publique
9 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale

BACKGROUND: Since the 1970s, international research has actively pursued hormonal male contraception (HMC) and, to a lesser extent, thermal male contraception (TMC). Although the efficacy of TMC has been confirmed in limited populations, its acceptability has not been studied in either potential users or potential prescribers. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive multicentre study of potential male users of TMC (new fathers) and potential prescribers of TMC (new providers) was conducted between November 2016 and February 2017.The participants completed a 3-part survey, and their responses were evaluated to i) determine their socio-demographic profiles; ii) identify personal experiences with contraception; and iii) gauge the participants' knowledge, interest and preference for male contraception, particularly TMC. For new providers only, the survey included a fourth part to evaluate professional experience with male contraception. RESULTS: The participation rate was 51% for new fathers (305 NFs) and 34% for new providers (300 NPs, including 97 men (male new providers, MNPs) and 203 women (female new providers, FNPs)). Only 3% of NFs and 15% of NPs knew about TMC (including 26% of the MNPs and 10% of the FNPs, p<0.01). After reading information on TMC, new fathers were significantly less willing to try TMC (29%) than were new providers (40%) (p<0.01). The 3 main advantages of TMC for the new fathers included the following factors: "natural" (52%), "without side effects" (38%) and "non-hormonal" (36%). The main disadvantages were "lengthy wear time" (56%), "daily undergarment wear" (43%) and "concern about possible discomfort" (39%). CONCLUSIONS: Young male and female providers have limited knowledge of male contraception, are interested in further information and would generally prescribe TMC to their patients. Successful expansion of the use of male contraception, including TMC, would require distribution of better information to potential users and providers.

Mots clés: Male contraception; Female contraception; Fathers; Parenting behavior; Physicians; Vasectomy; Body temperature; Pregnancy

Domaines: Biologie de la reproduction; Reproduction sexuée; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Santé

Marie Amouroux, Roger Mieusset, Raoul Desbriere, Pierre Opinel, Gilles Karsenty, et al.. Are men ready to use thermal male contraception? Acceptability in two French populations: New fathers and new providers. PLoS ONE, 2018, 13 (5), pp.e0195824. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0195824⟩. ⟨hal-02045166⟩