Increasing the availability of vasectomy in public-sector clinics

A program designed to improve the availability of vasectomy in public-sector clinics trained physicians at 43 facilities in no-scalpel vasectomy between 1993 and 1995. Among the 38 clinics that responded to a follow-up survey in 1996, the number of clinics providing vasectomies rose from 23 to 32, an increase of almost 40%, while the number of vasectomies performed rose by 18%. Seventeen of the 32 clinics performed more vasectomies after the training; 10 of the 17 had not previously provided the procedure. In-depth interviews with staff from seven sites that experienced large caseload increases and from seven that experienced decreases identified three elements for the successful establishment or expansion of vasectomy services-sufficient numbers of trained providers, funds to subsidize vasectomies for men who cannot afford them and activities to raise awareness about the availability of low-cost or free vasectomy.