The female condom is intended to serve a dual role, offering protection from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI). Many women's advocates and policy-makers see the female condom as a method that women can use to better protect themselves.
The following research briefs address female condom effectiveness, reuse, acceptability, impact on male condom use, and other key issues.
Scientists Recommend New Design for Female Condom Research (2009)
As the result of a workshop, scientists have proposed a new design for studies testing the effectiveness of innovations in the female condom.
Encouraging News in the Development of a New Female Condom (2008)
According to a study led by CONRAD, couples prefer a new female condom developed by the Program for Appropriate Technology (PATH) to the only female condom currently on the market in the United States.
Female Condoms Improve Public Health in Madagascar (2007)
The availability of female condoms is associated with more condom use, and thus better protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to results of a USAID-supported study in Madagascar.
Female Condom Research Brief Series (2007)
This series of research briefs presents information on female condom effectiveness, reuse, acceptibility, and other key issues.
- Dialogue on the Female Condom: An Overview on Science and Advocacy
This introduction frames the dialogue concerning the appropriate role for the female condom in reproductive health programs. It also describes the female condom, summarizes its history, and includes a drawing of how it is inserted.
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Effectiveness for Preventing Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections
The female condom is an effective contraceptive if used consistently and correctly. Laboratory studies have found the device to be impermeable to various STIs, including HIV. In theory, the female condom should protect against STIs in human contact as well, but research is limited and further studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness.
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Can the Female Condom Be Used Safely More than Once?
The female condom is more expensive than the male condom. If the female condom can be used safely more than once, the cost of each use would decline. Studies have found that the device remains structurally sound after repeated washings and reuse, and that a one-minute soak in a 1-to-20 dilution of bleach in water effectively inactivates the organisms that cause gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, and HIV infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to recommend the use of a new male or female condom for every act of sexual intercourse where there is risk of an unplanned pregnancy or of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection, but WHO also stated in July 2002 that "the final decision on whether or not to support reuse of the female condom must ultimately be taken locally."
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Female Condom Acceptability and Sustained Use
Since the female condom is a new method, the initial interest and demand must be generated. Information gathered from numerous acceptability studies demonstrates that the most attractive aspects of the female condom are that it is less likely to slip or break, it is more durable, and it is less disruptive of intimacy than a male condom. Following mass marketing campaigns and other interventions, researchers are studying what types of people are most likely to continue using the female condom.
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How the Female Condom Affects Levels of Protected Sex
Will availability and acceptance of the female condom undermine use of the male condom? Studies suggest that making the female condom available may increase the overall number of protected sex acts, but better research designs are needed to confirm this finding and examine related questions. For example, are reported rates of condom use reliable and how does the use of male and female condoms affect STI rates?
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Female Condom Introduction in South Africa
South Africa is one of the few countries in the world where a national family planning program has played a central role in introducing the female condom. In 1998 the female condom was introduced through family planning clinics and community-based programs in order to broaden its acceptance. Preliminary findings of substantial uptake and sustained use indicate South Africans view the female condom as an acceptable barrier method.
- Lessons from a Female Condom Community Intervention Trial in Rural Kenya
To address the question of the effect of the female condom on STI rates in rural areas, FHI conducted a community intervention and follow-up service delivery assessment in rural Kenya. Researchers concluded that the availability of the female condom did not reduce STI rates as compared to the reduction achieved by distribution of the male condom alone. However, intensive male condom promotion and distribution were not sufficient to have an important impact on disease either. Provider preconceptions may have limited opportunities for women to use the female condom.
Prototype Female Condom Performs Well in South African Study (2006)
A prototype female condom made with synthetic latex performs just as well as the commercially available Reality polyurethane female condom, reports the University of Witwatersrand, Brown University, and Family Health International in the journal Contraception.
