Comparison of contraceptive use in rural Guangdong province with the effect after migration to the United States

Background: While the Chinese government's “One Child Policy” (OCP) is one of the most debatable human experiments, many have yet to expose its effect on contraception usage and understanding in rural areas of China. One of the most problematic provinces today is Guangdong, the fifth largest province, where, within 10 months of 2006, 4823 new HIV cases were reported, raising the total to over 40000.

Methods: This semi-structured interview-based study is concentrated in rural Guangdong, with purposive sampling adopted to optimize the quality of the findings. From a total of 55 participants (~95% women), 25 in-person in-depth interviews were conducted with U.S. emigrants from Guangdong and 30 were interviews with current residents in the rural areas.

Results: All persons interviewed stated that this was the first time they had talked openly about contraception and associated topics. However, despite this lack of discussion, they shared many common views about knowledge of contraception, opinions about OCP policy, and willingness to talk about intercourse. Their willingness to talk appears to have a positive correlation with how far they lived from Chinese rural areas. Abstinence is the predominant method used in prevention because other methods of contraception, such as IUDs, carry negative connotations. Most interviewees in rural China failed to acknowledge the role contraception plays in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Conclusion: This study shows a demand for improved dialogue about modern contraception in rural Guangdong. Immigrants to the U.S. suggested further research and methods for counteracting the taboos regarding contraceptive practice and HIV/AIDS.