In the DHS knowledge of a contraceptive method means only that a respondent recalls hearing of it. This recall can be either spontaneous (without the interviewer mentioning the method) or prompted (that is, after the interviewer mentions the method by name). DHS results reported here include both types of knowledge. DHS data on knowledge do not necessarily mean that the respondent knows how to use the method, understands its effectiveness or side effects, or approves of it (76).

Other, in-depth studies find that men need more information about family planning, contraceptive methods, and reproductive physiology. For example, a survey of men in five districts of Uttar Pradesh, India, found that, among husbands who were not using a contraceptive method themselves, about 90% knew that they could help their wives avoid pregnancy by abstaining from sexual relations or by allowing their wives to use contraception. Only one-fifth of the men surveyed, however, could identify the time in a woman's cycle when she is fertile, and only half could identify a symptom of pregnancy complications (72, 75).

Although men may be aware of modern contraception, they often still have many questions about the reliability of specific methods as well as their potential side effects. For instance, focus-group studies in the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in 1994 found that married men's knowledge was limited to the IUD, Pill, and condom. These men expressed many concerns about the health effects of the Pill and the IUD and said they needed more information about safety and about other contraceptive choices (238).

In most African countries with DHS surveys, men report higher levels of awareness of contraceptive methods than women do (76, 118). In Niger, for example, 85% of the men surveyed know of at least one method compared with 77% of the women (76). In Bangladesh, Brazil, Haiti, and Pakistan, knowledge levels are almost identical among men and women.

West African men are slightly less likely than men in other regions to know about contraception. In Cameroon, for example, 74% of surveyed men say they know of at least one contraceptive method. Also men in Pakistan report lower levels of contraceptive knowledge than men in many other countries surveyed.

In most countries men and women both are more likely to know of modern contraceptive methods than traditional methods. In five countries—Bangladesh, Brazil, Haiti, Malawi, and Zimbabwe—practically all men report knowledge of some modern methods. Men are most likely to know of the Pill, followed by condoms and female sterilization. Of the two traditional methods, periodic abstinence is better known than withdrawal. Men in East Africa are more likely to know about traditional methods than are men in other regions.

In most countries many more men know of female sterilization than of male sterilization (vasectomy). In Morocco, for example, 78% of men surveyed report knowing about female sterilization but only 9%, vasectomy. In Bangladesh, however, where knowledge of all methods is widespread, 99% of men know of female sterilization, and 90% know of male sterilization.

As might be expected, men with more schooling are more likely to know of at least one method, and urban men are more knowledgeable than rural men. Also, men's awareness of contraception appears to be growing. In Mali, for example, in the 1987 DHS 66% of men reported knowledge of at least one contraceptive method. By 1995 the percentage had increased to 88%.

Other studies. A scattering of other studies find that almost all men surveyed know about contraception (30, 72, 161, 183, 188, 231). A study of 630 couples in Cochabamba, Bolivia, found that husbands' knowledge of contraceptive methods was somewhat greater than wives' knowledge. Among the husbands, 99% could identify at least one modern method, compared with 93% of wives. Among both sexes, condoms and IUDs were best known, while injectables and spermicides were least known (298).

The 1990-91 Botswana Males and Family Planning Survey, conducted among sexually active men ages 13 to 69, found that almost all men knew about the Pill and condoms. Many also knew about IUDs, injectables, and female sterilization. Fewer knew about vasectomy, periodic abstinence, and vaginal methods (131).