Family Planning NSW, Ashfield, NSW, Australia.
Health Promot J Austr. 2022 Jan;33(1):117-125. doi: 10.1002/hpja.459. Epub 2021 Feb 21.
The female condom is a barrier method for the prevention of sexually transmissible infections and unintended pregnancy. Uptake of this method remains low in Australia, although little research has been undertaken to explore this.
An interventional cross-sectional study was undertaken in 2019 to explore the views and experiences of women in New South Wales. After trying the female condom, they were invited to complete an online survey and/or structured interview. Training in the use of the female condom was not provided. This paper reports on qualitative findings from open-ended survey responses and interviews.
In total, 284 participants completed the survey and 20 participated in an interview. Most were aware of the female condom prior to participating in the study, but few had used it previously. Four broad themes were identified from the data: (i) accessibility of the female condom, including cost and availability, (ii) supporting choice in different circumstances, (iii) aspects of empowerment and control and (iv) use of gendered language.
The female condom may be an acceptable option for many women in Australia. To support the choice of method and promote uptake, it will be important to increase the accessibility of the female condom by raising awareness and addressing the issues of cost and availability. Further exploration of issues regarding inclusive language and messaging in health promotion campaigns and marketing is warranted to ensure that this product is accessible for all people who may wish to use it, regardless of gender or sexuality. Similar research could be undertaken with men/partners and members of the LGBTQ+ community to explore their perspectives of the female condom. SO WHAT?: To support contraceptive choice and promote the uptake of the female condom for those who desire this method, it will be important to address the issues of cost and availability. Accessibility will also be enhanced through the consideration of inclusive language and messaging in health promotion campaigns and marketing of the female condom.
女用避孕套是一种用于预防性传播感染和意外怀孕的屏障方法。尽管很少有研究探索这一点，但这种方法在澳大利亚的使用率仍然很低。
2019 年进行了一项干预性横断面研究，以探索新南威尔士州女性的观点和经验。在尝试使用女用避孕套后，她们被邀请完成在线调查和/或结构化访谈。不提供女用避孕套使用方面的培训。本文报告了来自开放式调查回复和访谈的定性发现。
共有 284 名参与者完成了调查，20 名参与者接受了访谈。大多数参与者在参与研究之前就已经了解女用避孕套，但之前很少使用过。从数据中确定了四个广泛的主题：（一）女用避孕套的可及性，包括成本和可用性；（二）在不同情况下支持选择；（三）赋权和控制方面；（四）使用性别化语言。
女用避孕套可能是澳大利亚许多女性的可接受选择。为了支持方法的选择并促进其使用，提高女用避孕套的可及性非常重要，方法是提高认识并解决成本和可用性问题。有必要进一步探讨健康促进运动和营销中关于包容性语言和信息的问题，以确保所有可能希望使用该产品的人都可以使用，无论其性别或性取向如何。可以对男性/伴侣和 LGBTQ+群体成员进行类似的研究，以探讨他们对女用避孕套的看法。那么问题来了：为了支持避孕方法的选择并促进对那些希望使用这种方法的人的女用避孕套的使用，解决成本和可用性问题非常重要。通过在健康促进运动和女用避孕套营销中考虑包容性语言和信息，也将提高可及性。
