Duet® for menstrual protection: a feasibility study in Zimbabwe☆
Received 30 September 2008; received in revised form 10 December 2008; accepted 10 December 2008. published online 29 January 2009.
Abstract
Background
Managing menses is a challenge for women in developing countries. Duet® is a cervical barrier being developed for contraception and STI prevention. We explored the hypothetical acceptability of using Duet as a menstrual cup, among Zimbabwean women.
Study Design
A survey and focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with 43 women aged 18–45 years to gain information about their menstrual practices and attitudes regarding the use of Duet for menstrual protection.
Results
All 43 women reported that if Duet were available, they would “definitely” try it, and that it was “very important” that Duet is low cost and easy to clean; 86% reported that using it would make a difference in their lives. FGD findings highlighted unhygienic practices due to the lack of affordable options for menstrual management and a genuine interest in Duet, including its potential use for multiple purposes (contraception, disease prevention and menstrual protection).
Conclusions
Accessing affordable and hygienic menstrual protection was a problem for these Zimbabwean women. Duet appeared acceptable and it would be feasible to conduct a user-acceptability study of Duet as a menstrual cup in Zimbabwe.
aClinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA
bWomen's Global Health Imperative, RTI International, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
cUniversity of Zimbabwe-University of California San Francisco Research Collaborative Programme in Women's Health, Harare, Zimbabwe
dDepartment of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA
Corresponding author.
☆ This study was funded by Reprotect, Inc. (contract # P0015330) when Drs. van der Straten and Sahin-Hodoglugil were at the Department of OBGYN, University of California San Francisco. Sarah Averbach was a Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellow/UCSF CTSI Fellow. The authors are not employed by, nor do they own equity in, Reprotect, Inc.
ABSTRACT