Using theater-based research to study views on contraception
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Objectives
Historically, contraceptive research is impeded by barriers to openly discuss sexual experiences. Theater-based research is a promising approach to foster deeper engagement and a richer exploration of lived experiences to gain insights in underlying implicit factors that shape contraceptive use. This study uses theater-based research to explore adults’ views, responsibility, satisfaction, and knowledge about contraception.
Study Design
The study was conducted at a three-day music festival in the Netherlands with 1,024 participants (32.9% men, mean age 28.1 years). Theater was integrated by transforming the study setting into a dance club, where the research team performed characters. Participants completed an individual survey prior to the theater experience, a team-based contraceptive knowledge quiz, and a writings on the wall activity. Survey and quiz data were analyzed using linear regression, thematic analysis was applied for evaluating writings on the wall.
Results
On a scale from 1 to 10, the survey revealed general contraceptive satisfaction (women: 7.0, men: 7.7) and responsibility (women: 8.7, men: 7.7). Participant teams had a mean of 73.7% correct quiz answers. We found six themes that emerged in contraceptive views: side effects, fallibility, shared responsibility, information needs, dismissive counseling, and resistance to hormones.
Conclusion
This study revealed complementary findings between traditional survey findings, indicating overall satisfaction with contraception, and theater-based writings on the wall, eliciting more candid and critical reflections with a notably negative tone. Theater-based data collection may capture lived experiences more vividly and lower barriers for research participation, suggesting its value for studying sexual and reproductive health.
Implications
Theater offers a promising complement to conventional contraception research. By fostering comfort, humor and participation, it reveals more candid perspectives and may therefore reduce social desirability bias. Future research should further examine its added value in recruiting populations not reached by traditional methods.
