Vasectomy: Tools for Providers

This issue of INFO Reports highlights communication aspects of giving clients information about vasectomy in counseling settings. It offers key points of discussion of vasectomy for family planning providers, including checklists and tables that support the following:

1. "Counsel clients about vasectomy and ensure that they make an informed choice;
2. Identify men with conditions that require a delay or special consideration before they can have a vasectomy;
3. Explain the vasectomy procedure;
4. Try to make sure that the client's decision for vasectomy is well-considered and his own; and
5. Explain to a man what he should do before and after the vasectomy.

The document includes the following sections: questions to help a client make choices; responding to myths, rumours, and misperceptions; a medical eligibility checklist; a section on counseling men with HIV or AIDS; an illustrated explanation of the procedure; a provider's assessment guide of a client's decision; and a sample of post-vasectomy instructions for the client.

This report accompanies Population Reports, “Vasectomy: Reaching Out to New Users” (included in the related the related summaries section below). According to the authors, it also complements the information provided in the chapter on vasectomy in Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers.