Contraceptive practices before and after an intervention promoting condom use to prevent HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases among women--selected U.S. sites, 1993-1995.

Because heterosexual contact is the most common mode of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission among women, development of effective strategies to reduce sexually transmitted HIV infection is critical. In addition, because most women at risk for HIV infection are reproductive aged (14-44 years), effective use of contraceptives is important to prevent unintended pregnancies. Latex condoms used by males, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective at reducing the risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); however, hormonal contraceptive methods or surgical sterilization are more effective for preventing pregnancy. One possible effect of encouraging women to use condoms for HIV/STD prevention with their male partners is that women may discontinue use of hormonal contraceptive methods. To assess whether encouraging women to use condoms for HIV/STD prevention affects their contraceptive practices, CDC analyzed longitudinal data on contraceptive methods and condom use for HIV/STD prevention that were collected as part of a randomized trial evaluating HIV-counseling methods during August 1993-June 1995. This report summarizes the findings of the analysis, which indicate that, among reproductive-aged women who were encouraged to use condoms for HIV/STD prevention, consistent condom use for HIV/STD prevention increased among women using each contraceptive method studied. In addition, most women using hormonal contraceptive methods continued to use them after the intervention, and the overall proportion of women protected against pregnancy increased.