Level of awareness and uptake of the female condom in women aged 18 to 49 years in Bindura district, Mashonaland Central province, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Zimbabwe introduced the female condom in 1997, but acceptance was slow. A study was conducted to determine its level of awareness and uptake in women aged 18 to 49 years at Bindura Provincial Hospital, and at Chipadze and Chiwaridzo council clinics. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. A total of 242 eligible consenting respondents were selected using simple random sampling. Data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16. Data revealed that 81.4% of the respondents had heard about the method. Most respondents 88 (36.4%) had heard about female condoms from nurses. However, 53.3% had not received health education on the method from healthcare providers. Knowledge of the female condom was low at 36.3% and most respondents (83.5%) had not used it. The major reasons cited for failure to use the method were unavailability (19.8%) and partner refusal (17.8%). Of the 16.5% who used the female condom only 4.1% used it consistently. Female condom uptake was very low at 16.1%. Knowledge of the method was associated with its uptake (χ(2) = 86, p < 0.05). Pearson's correlation was used to examine the relationship between awareness and uptake of the method. It indicated a weak positive linear relationship (r = 0.309, p < 0.01). A regression coefficient (R(2) = 0.095, p < 0.05) showed that female condom awareness accounts for 9.5% of the variance in uptake. This study revealed that women with increased level of awareness on the method are likely to use it. Therefore, healthcare providers need to strengthen health education on female condoms and make them readily available.

Knowledge, acceptance and utilisation of the female condom among women of reproductive age in Ghana

“…These examples suggest that FC knowledge among this sample of women is relatively low which calls for concerted efforts aimed at increasing FC awareness and knowledge among women in their reproductive ages. This finding of relatively low FC knowledge is consistent with the finding in a sample of Zimbabwean women of reproductive age that their knowledge of the FC is low [ 18 ]. This low knowledge could be attributable to the low level of awareness creation on the FC within the municipality.…”

“…Research conducted in the sub-Saharan region and other parts of the world have identified several factors associated with the acceptance and utilisation of the FC among women of reproductive age [ 16 – 19 ]. Evidence suggests that there is generally a low level of knowledge about the FC, as Chipfuwa et al [ 18 ] found among Zimbabwean women of reproductive age, that knowledge of the FC was low (36.3%) and most respondents (83.5%) reported never using them. The same study further revealed that unavailability of the FC and partner refusals were the key determinants of use [ 18 ].…”

“…Evidence suggests that there is generally a low level of knowledge about the FC, as Chipfuwa et al [ 18 ] found among Zimbabwean women of reproductive age, that knowledge of the FC was low (36.3%) and most respondents (83.5%) reported never using them. The same study further revealed that unavailability of the FC and partner refusals were the key determinants of use [ 18 ]. These results are supported by findings from a review of studies on FC knowledge, acceptance and usage that male partner objection was the most commonly cited factor preventing initial and continued use of the FC [ 5 ].…”

Evaluation of Female Condom Use among Students at the University of Lubumbashi: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on University Cities

“…shows that 20 female students had never heard of the female condom or 11.8% and 149 out of 169 had already heard of the female condom 88.2%. Our results are almost similar to those of Chipfuwa on female condom use in the central province of Zimbabwe, which shows that 36.3% of participants had never heard of the female condom and 83.5% had never used it[10]. In South-eastern Nigeria, however, a survey of undergraduate students indicates that the level of knowledge about the female condom is 76.7% among the students surveyed[11].…”

New Biomedical Technologies and Strategies for Prevention of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections

“…The outer ring of the condom is also visible outside the vagina, another factor that may affect its uptake. However reports show increased update of the female condom with good social marketing and health education [ 93 , 94 ].…”