The process of finding contraceptive options
Swanson, J.M.
Western Journal of Nursing Research 10(4): 492-503
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0193-9459 PMID: 3188508 DOI: 10.1177/019394598801000412Document Number: 266778
The purpose of this study was to determine how partner interactions influence contraceptive use. Unstructured interviews were conducted at a men's reproductive health clinic, a contraceptive store, and a rural family planning clinic in California. The process in which couples identified contraceptive options was one of privatized discovery followed by assigning identities to options and tailoring the options identified to their own needs. Whenever situations changed, such as in divorce or when the couple was confronted by sexually transmitted disease, options had to be retailored and new options identified. Couples found that they had to coordinate their efforts, sometimes through cooperation and sometimes through contesting the other partner's decisions.