Health practicioners and condoms in the ex-henequenera zone of Yucatan

Arlette Gautier, Université de Brest

The Mexican population and health reproductive programs are heavily biased towards sterilizations and IUD, even in areas, like the henequenera zone, where a high percentage of the population suffers from sexually transmitted diseases and do not use medicalised contraception. How do health services employees cope with this contradiction? Are they even aware of it? To respond this question, we will use a field work made in the henequenera zone in 2004-2005, where qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used. Interviews were realized with 113 members of committees for health and 205 sanitary staff (85 doctors, 78 nurses and 42 health assistants). A spatial distribution technique (aérolaire) was used to choose the 988 women and 519 men interviewed. We will first analyze the high percentage of STD and the condom use and then the representations of health practitioners, notably in terms of neo-malthusian and gender biases.