Teaching about the female condom

Abstract

Reality female condoms became available for over-the-counter purchase in the fall of 1994. Because the female condom is a new sexual barrier device, women need to learn how to use it correctly. Health care providers must also be knowledgeable about the correct use of the female condom so that they can teach women how to use it as a barrier method. To facilitate learning about the female condom, a curriculum was developed that included a quiz on knowledge about the female condom. Content validity was established through a content validity index completed by six content experts. This quiz was used to evaluate educational sessions offered to 42 persons in an urban college setting and 18 women in a community setting. The article describes the female condom along with the curriculum that was developed to teach its correct use and the reactions of potential users of the female condom.

PIP: The annual failure rate of the Reality female condom is 21% among inconsistent users compared with 5% among consistent, correct users, a finding that underscores the importance of training in the proper use of this device. This study evaluated a 60-minute curriculum aimed at describing the development of the female condom, demonstrating its correct use, and identifying conditions under which the female condom is the most appropriate choice of barrier method. Course participants included 42 New York undergraduate and graduate students (average age, 23.5 years) and 18 clients from a community-based agency (average age, 36.0 years). Administered, both before and after the training, was a 15-item true/false quiz assessing knowledge about the female condom. Content validity was established through an index completed by six content experts. Among college students, the mean score on the pretest was 10.9 (range, 5-15 correct); this score increased to 12.3 (range, 8-14 correct) at post-test, confirming a significant gain in knowledge as a result of exposure to the curriculum. Among community-based participants, the mean score declined from 10.3 at pretest to 7.8 among the 9 women who completed the post-test; although these women did not seem as comfortable as the students with the lecture format, the decline in knowledge is considered to reflect distractions created by other events occurring at the agency. The quiz is in the process of being modified to improve its validity and ensure that women with lower literacy levels than those in the present study can understand the questions.