article

Male attitudes to family planning in the era of HIV/AIDS: evidence from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Journal of southern African studies27 (2)Published In 2001 • Pages: 245-257

By: Maharaj, Pranitha.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Men have an instrumental role to play in reproductive decision-making and their attitudes may have a significant impact on fertility decisions and family planning. This article presents finding from a qualitative study of male attitudes towards family planning in the province of Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa. The study found that there is strong male approval of family planning as a method of fertility regulation. However, with reference to condoms as a specific method of contraception, although men's knowledge of condoms is relatively good, they are not a popular method of family planning and there is much male resistance to their use. An important reason is that condoms are associated with illicit sex and promiscuity. They are thus unlikely to be used in stable, ongoing relationships. These negative attitudes are major obstacles to the develolpment of condom use as a means of protecting against the spread of HIV (p. 245).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Morbidity
Population policy
Cultural participation
Gender status
Social relationships and groups
Preventive medicine
Sexuality
Sexual intercourse
Conception
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Zulu
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2005
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Africa
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southern Africa
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Development Studies
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2004
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1982-1998
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
KwaDumisa and Chesterville, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
NotesAdditional notes
Pranitha Maharaj
Includes bibliographical references
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Zulu (African people)