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
. 2013 Mar;40(3):264-70.
doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31827c58c9.

Promoting female condoms in the sex industry in 4 towns of Southern China: context matters

Li Nie  1 , Susu Liao, Margaret R Weeks, Yanhong Wang, Jingmei Jiang, Qingning Zhang, Yuejiao Zhou, Bin He, Jianghong Li, Jennifer Dunn
Affiliations

Promoting female condoms in the sex industry in 4 towns of Southern China: context matters

Li Nie et al. Sex Transm Dis. 2013 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The female condom (FC) is an effective tool for dual protection, but it remains underused. Individual and contextual reasons need to be explored.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare individual and contextual characteristics of FC multitime users, 1-time users, and nonusers among women in the sex industry of 4 study sites in China.

Methods: A standardized 1-year FC intervention along with male condoms was implemented through outreach to sex establishments. Three serial cross-sectional surveys were conducted at baseline and after each of two 6-month intervention phases.

Results: A total of 445, 437, and 290 eligible women were interviewed at 3 cross-sectional surveys, respectively. At the first and second postintervention surveys, 83.3% and 81.7% of women reported knowing about FC, and 28.8% and 36.6% had used FC at least once. Women who used FC multiple times reported less unprotected sex than nonusers in the last 30 days (3.0% vs. 17.2% at first and 3.2% vs. 16.8% at second postintervention survey, P < 0.01). Polytomous logistic regression showed that both 1-time and multitime users were more likely to come from one particular site (approximately 3 times more than the reference site). Higher intervention scores (adjusted odds ratio, 1.8-4.0) and working in boarding houses (adjusted odds ratio, 3.4) were associated with FC use.

Conclusions: Adding FC into male-condom-only intervention may reduce unprotected sex among women in sex establishments in rural and small urban areas of China. Adoption of FC may be related not only to intervention exposure but also to contextual factors associated with study site and type of sex establishments.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest No conflicts of interests are involved in this study.

References

    1. Li X, Hong Y, Poston D. Preventing HIV in women: a top priority in China's efforts in fighting AIDS. AIDS Care. 2011;23(Suppl 1):1–4. - PubMed
    1. Huang YY, Henderson GE, Pan SM, et al. HIV/AIDS Risk Among Brothel-Based Female Sex Workers in China: Assessing the Terms, Content, and Knowledge of Sex Work. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2004;31:695–700. - PubMed
    1. Wang L, Ding ZW, Ding GW, et al. Data analysis of national HIV comprehensive surveillance sites among female sex workers from 2004 to 2008. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2009;43:1009–1015. - PubMed
    1. Macaluso M, Blackwell R, Jamieson DJ, et al. Efficacy of the male latex condom and of the female polyurethane condom as barriers to semen during intercourse: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Epidemiol. 2007;166:88–96. - PubMed
    1. Gallo MF, Kilbourne-Brook M, Coffey PS. A review of the effectiveness and acceptability of the female condom for dual protection. Sex Health. 2012;9:18–26. - PubMed

Publication types