Awareness and Acceptability of Female Condoms Among Monogamous Hong Kong Chinese Female Sexually Transmitted Infection Patients

Abstract

Female condom is an effective means of HIV prevention. Monogamous female sexually transmitted infection (STI) patients are exposed indirectly to high risk of contracting HIV/STI via their sole male sex partners. There are few interventions to protect such women whilst female condom use is a potential means of self-protection. With informed consent, this cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of awareness and acceptability of female condoms among 335 Chinese monogamous female STI patients attending a government STI clinic in Hong Kong. Among those who were aware of female condoms (66.9 % of the sample), 68.3 % were willing to use free female condoms. Awareness was associated with having the sex partner being a boyfriend (OR = 3.76, P < 0.001), knowledge about asymptomatic property of HIV (OR = 2.14, P = 0.006) and no immunity for STI (OR = 2.14, P = 0.011), experience of HIV antibody testing (OR = 2.21, P = 0.004) and unemployment (OR = 0.50, P = 0.011). Among those who had heard of female condoms, acceptability was associated with knowledge about possibility to contracting two STI concomitantly (OR = 2.26, P = 0.03) and perceived chance of contracting STI from the sex partner in the coming 6 months (OR = 2.27, P = 0.04). Awareness is relatively low but the prevalence of acceptability is encouraging. Female condoms have been underused and should be promoted among monogamous female STI patients as a means of empowerment as an option for sex protection.

Determinants of physicians’ online medical services uptake: a cross-sectional study applying social ecosystem theory

“…Taking these independent variables with p<0.1 in the univariate analysis as candidate variables for the stepwise selection procedure of multivariate analysis is a standard statistical method commonly employed to screen independent variables. 36 Hence, in this study, those independent variables with p<0.1 in the univariate analysis were taken as candidate variables for the next multivariate analysis. Multivariate, linear, stepwise regression was performed to explore the determinants of the OMS uptake willingness, and multivariate, forward, stepwise logistic regression was carried out to explore the determinants of actual OMS uptake.…”

Online medical services utilization evaluated through the lens of socioecological theory and the information–motivation–behavioral skills model: evidence from China

“…When including any additional variables did not further improve the fitness of the model, the forward stepwise selection was stopped. 21 A two-tailed P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant throughout the analysis. Data analysis was performed using SPSS R 25.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL).…”

“…In the stepwise regression, the candidate variables included all independent variables, P < 0.1 in the univariate analysis. When including any additional variables did not further improve the fitness of the model, the forward stepwise selection was stopped 21 . A two‐tailed P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant throughout the analysis.…”

Short-Term Acceptability of the Woman’s Condom among Married Couples in Shanghai

“…To date, relatively few studies in China have assessed female condom acceptability, and those studies have focused on sex workers. Acceptability of other types of female condoms has been demonstrated by women in sex establishments in rural and small urban areas of southern China [ 7 , 8 ], sex workers in Enping City, China [ 9 ], and female STI patients attending a government STI clinic in Hong Kong [ 10 ]. Data from the current study suggest good overall acceptability of the Woman's Condom in a general population of married couples recruited from family planning clinics.…”