Attitudes of married men to the use of vaginal microbicides by their female partners in Pune, India

Abstract

The availability of female-initiated HIV prevention options does not necessarily lead to their uptake. We investigated if married men were willing to support open or covert use of microbicides by their spouses in Pune, India. Data was collected using an interview-administered questionnaire from 151 consenting married men with a mean age of 34 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between sociodemographic and behavioural factors. One hundred and thirty-seven men (71.5%) were educated and 146 men (96.7%) were employed. Men aged <34 years were eight times (p=0.024) and those in a harmonious relationship were seven times (p=0.008) more willing to use microbicides compared with men aged ≥34 years and men in less harmonious relationships, respectively. Men practicing high-risk sexual behaviour were twice (p=0.049) and men with a history of using contraceptives were three times (p=0.05) more likely to support the covert use of microbicides compared with those reporting no or low-risk sexual behaviour and those who had never used contraceptives, respectively. This suggests that sociodemographic and behavioural factors relating to men as well as women should be considered when developing and marketing microbicides.