Vasectomy: views of Latinos and white men

Vasectomy has gained wide acceptance as a safe, effective, and efficient method of birth control. Knowledge regarding the satisfaction of patients who have undergone the procedure has been well documented. In contrast, there is little data examining the attitude of men in general to the procedure or attempting to interpret these attitudes in a cultural context. Moreover, there appears to be widespread belief by providers that acceptance of the operation is poor among ethnic minorities such as Latinos and blacks. A questionnaire was distributed to 50 white and 50 Latino men at a large county hospital to determine ethnic differences in attitudes toward vasectomy. Only 54 percent of the Latino respondents stated they knew what a vasectomy was compared with 96 percent of the white respondents. Among respondents who knew what a vasectomy was, 50 percent of Latinos and 61 percent of whites stated they would not consider vasectomy in the event that they did not want more children. There was little support for the hypothesis that machismo played an important part in the negative responses by the Latino men or that fears of impotence played a role in the attitudes of both groups. This study suggests that a stronger emphasis on education regarding this procedure should be directed to the Latino male population.