Men's knowledge and behavior regarding male condom adherence

Abstract

Studies indicate the low prevalence of condom use in the Brazilian population and socioeconomic and demographic disparities are observed, reinforcing the need to revisit, strengthen and expand public policies in the field of sexual health, with a view to preventing risky sexual behaviors and promoting comprehensive use of condoms. Mistakes in health promotion and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) prevention initiatives stand out, as well as weaknesses in the dialogue that is entangled between feelings, perceptions and attitudes towards safe use, noting little effectiveness of programmatic actions . Describe the knowledge and verify the attitude of men regarding adherence to the male condom. This is an exploratory, descriptive study, with a quantitative approach, interviewing 361 men, through a questionnaire published on Google Forms, with approval from the Ethics and Research Committee 2,062,048. The average age was 24.5 years, 42% lived with parents or family, 26% alone, 22% with a partner, 66% were single and 40% had incomplete higher education. Regarding sexuality, 65.5% identified themselves as heterosexual, the average age for first sexual intercourse was 15 years old, 45% did not use condoms and 71% of the sample maintained an active sexual life. It was also found that 18%

do not have the freedom to talk about condoms at home, 17% need to hide the condoms, 25% sometimes have difficulty putting them on, 57% have never practiced using a condom and 19% have had sex without condom because I couldn't put it on.