{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T10:30:56Z","timestamp":1788345056721,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,1]],"date-time":"2020-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1593561600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008899","name":"University of South Carolina","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008899","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Am J Mens Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Vasectomy is one of the few options men have to manage their reproductive capacity and take on a more equitable role in pregnancy prevention. While the method is underused throughout the United States, the southern states have a lower prevalence rate compared to the rest of the country. Existing survey research does not assess what men know or think about the procedure as a means of understanding why this is the case. We created and conducted an exploratory survey to assess men\u2019s knowledge, attitudes, and information-seeking behaviors about vasectomy in the Southern United States. We used targeted Facebook advertising to recruit men ages 25\u201370 years living in 7 southern states to complete an online survey ( n = 397). Using regression analyses, we identify that participants who had a vasectomy knew more about the procedure than participants who had not. Participants who had not had a vasectomy had less positive attitudes about the procedure across all six attitude subscales compared to participants with vasectomies. We highlight potential avenues for future research to understand why this may be the case. Finally, the majority of participants knew someone who had had a vasectomy. This suggests that men disclose having a vasectomy to others. The interpersonal dynamics around vasectomy decision-making and disclosure remain unknown and a viable area for future research. Findings from this exploratory survey may be used by public health officials interested in implementing campaigns to increase knowledge about vasectomy and reduce stigma, which may encourage more positive attitudes about the procedure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1557988320949368","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,19]],"date-time":"2020-08-19T05:36:41Z","timestamp":1597815401000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["Men\u2019s Vasectomy Knowledge, Attitudes, and Information-Seeking Behaviors in the Southern United States: Results From an Exploratory Survey"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4519-2280","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashley L.","family":"White","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK"},{"name":"Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rachel E.","family":"Davis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deborah L.","family":"Billings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA"},{"name":"Institute for Families in Society, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA"},{"name":"Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6246-2441","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emily S.","family":"Mann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA"},{"name":"Women\u2019s and Gender Studies Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Almeling R. (2015). Reproduction. Annual Review of Sociology, 41(1), 423\u2013442. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev-soc-073014-112258","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-soc-073014-112258"},{"key":"bibr2-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Almeling R., Waggoner M. R. (2013). More and less than equal: How men factor in the reproductive equation. Gender & Society, 27(6), 821\u2013842. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0891243213484510","DOI":"10.1177\/0891243213484510"},{"key":"bibr3-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14681990802206762"},{"key":"bibr4-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anderson J. E., Jamieson D. J., Warner L., Kissin D. M., Nangia A. K., Macaluso M. (2012). Contraceptive sterilization among married adults: National data on who chooses vasectomy and tubal sterilization. Contraception, 85(6), 552\u2013557. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.contraception.2011.10.009","DOI":"10.1016\/j.contraception.2011.10.009"},{"key":"bibr5-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anderson J. E., Warner L., Jamieson D. J., Kissin D. M., Nangia A. K., Macaluso M. (2010). Contraceptive sterilization use among married men in the United States: Results from the male sample of the National Survey of Family Growth. Contraception, 82(3), 230\u2013235. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.contraception.2010.03.018","DOI":"10.1016\/j.contraception.2010.03.018"},{"key":"bibr6-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barone M. A., Hutchinson P. L., Johnson C. H., Hsia J., Wheeler J. (2006). Vasectomy in the United States, 2002. Journal of Urology, 176(1), 232\u2013236. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0022-5347(06)00507-6","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-5347(06)00507-6"},{"key":"bibr7-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Borrero S., Farkas A., Dehlendorf C., Rocca C. H. (2013). Racial and ethnic differences in men\u2019s knowledge and attitudes about contraception. Contraception, 88(4), 532\u2013538. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.contraception.2013.04.002","DOI":"10.1016\/j.contraception.2013.04.002"},{"key":"bibr8-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Borrero S., Moore C. G., Creinin M. D., Ibrahim S. A. (2010). Low rates of vasectomy among minorities: A result of differential receipt of counseling? American Journal of Men\u2019s Health, 4(3), 243\u2013249. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1557988309337619","DOI":"10.1177\/1557988309337619"},{"key":"bibr9-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bryk D. J., Murthy P. B., DeWitt-Foy M., Sun A. Y., Parekh N. V., Sabanegh E., Vij S. C. (2020). Childless men at the time of vasectomy are unlikely to seek fertility restoration. Urology, 136, 142\u2013145. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.urology.2019.12.003","DOI":"10.1016\/j.urology.2019.12.003"},{"key":"bibr10-1557988320949368","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, June 28). NSFG - About the National Survey of Family Growth. https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nsfg\/about_nsfg.htm"},{"key":"bibr11-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4135\/9781412983877"},{"key":"bibr12-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Douglas-Hall A., Kost K., Kavanaugh M. L. (2018). State-level estimates of contraceptive use in the United States, 2017. Guttmacher Institute. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1363\/2018.30267","DOI":"10.1363\/2018.30267"},{"key":"bibr13-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Eeckhaut M. C. W. (2015). Marital status and female and male contraceptive sterilization in the United States. Fertility and Sterility, 103(6), 1509\u20131515. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2015.02.036","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2015.02.036"},{"key":"bibr14-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Eisenberg M. L., Henderson J. T., Amory J. K., Smith J. F., Walsh T. J. (2009). Racial differences in vasectomy utilization in the United States: Data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Urology, 74(5), 1020\u20131024. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.urology.2009.06.042","DOI":"10.1016\/j.urology.2009.06.042"},{"key":"bibr15-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Eisenberg M. L., Lipshultz L. I. (2010). Estimating the number of vasectomies performed annually in the United States: Data from the National Survey of Family Growth. 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Scoring men: Vasectomies and the totemic illusion of male sexuality in Oaxaca. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, 29(1), 79\u2013101. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11013-005-4624-7","DOI":"10.1007\/s11013-005-4624-7"},{"key":"bibr19-1557988320949368","unstructured":"Guttmacher Institute. (2020). Contraceptive use in the United States. Guttmacher Institute. https:\/\/www.guttmacher.org\/sites\/default\/files\/factsheet\/fb_contr_use_0.pdf"},{"key":"bibr20-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hernandez-Aguilera D., Marv\u00e1n M. L. (2015). Desarrollo de un instrument para medir creencias y actitudes hacia la vasectom\u00eda. Perinatolog\u00eda y Reproducci\u00f3n Humana, 29(4), 162\u2013167. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.rprh.2016.03.002","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rprh.2016.03.002"},{"key":"bibr21-1557988320949368","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hernandez-Aguilera D., Marv\u00e1n M. L. (2016). 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