Abstract
Background
The widespread distribution of female condoms (FCs) in developing countries has been
hindered by high unit cost, making new less expensive devices a priority for donor
agencies.
Study Design
Randomized, crossover study assessing product preference, safety, acceptability and
function of three new FCs (PATH Woman's Condom, FC2 and V-Amour) among 170 women in
Durban, South Africa. A subsequent ���simulated market��� study provided participants
with free choice of FCs and assessed condom uptake over 3 months.
Results
Of the 160 women who used at least one FC of each type, 47.5% preferred the PATH Woman's
Condom (WC), 35.6% preferred FC2 and 16.3% preferred V-Amour (p<.001). Women rated
the WC better than FC2 and V-Amour for appearance, ease of use and overall fit and
better than V-Amour for feel. WC was rated worse than FC2 and V-Amour for lubrication
volume. The simulated market demonstrated similar preferences. Total clinical failure
rates (i.e., the types of failures that could result in pregnancy or STI) were low
(<4%), regardless of condom type.
Conclusions
Three new FC types functioned similarly and were generally acceptable. Most participants
preferred WC and FC2 over V-Amour, and WC was preferred over FC2 in several acceptability
measures.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 20, 2010
Accepted:
August 2,
2010
Received in revised form:
July 29,
2010
Received:
June 2,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc.
