Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Spring;18(3):22.

Behavior affects consistent use

W R Finger
  • PMID: 12293531

Behavior affects consistent use

W R Finger. Netw Res Triangle Park N C. 1998 Spring.

Abstract

PIP: Condoms must be used correctly and consistently in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and pregnancy. However, consistent use demands sustained behavior patterns. In a project with International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliates in Brazil, Honduras, and Jamaica, the counseling of women has moved away from emphasizing contraceptive methods, side effects, and correct use, to the more broad context of women's sexuality and risk of STD infection as a means of promoting behavior change. Providers use a sexuality-based approach in which they confer with women about their current sex partners, past partners, whether their partners travel for work, whether they think their partners may have other sex partners, and how those factors relate to the risk of STD infection. The project has also aggressively taught men about STDs and condom use, and involves men in counseling. One study has found that people who choose condoms as their main contraceptive method need more counseling than people who use condoms as a backup method, since primary users may have underestimated the difficulty of using condoms at every act of sexual intercourse. Furthermore, counseling appears to increase condom use when it involves both men and women in a monogamous relationship.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

MeSH terms