Dynamics of acceptability of the female condom among prostitutes and young women in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

Objective : to assess the acceptability of the female condom among 2 groups of women in Cote d'lvoire, Design : Trial of use. Setting : Abidjan, non-medical structures. Participants : 114 women accepted initial interview : 52 commercial sex workers (CSWs), 62 young women. 103 women volunteered for the trial of use. Interventions : 20 female condoms given to the CSWs, 10 given to the young women; adapted instructions for use, counsellings on AIDS, STDs and genital anatomy provided before and all along the trial. Main outcome measures : qualitative assessment with some quantitative measures. Results : the female condom aroused a general interest from all participants. 90 % accepted to use it; 75 % of 103 volunteers completed the trial. Approximately 1 200 utilizations were recorded. Prevalence of misuses was low (approx. 2 % of the fetal); prevalence of discomforts was much higher, All the users except two wanted to use it in the future. Conclusion : safe protection and dual protection (against HIV/STDs, pregnancies) were the two main sources of interest; CSWs quickly appropriated this new tool, Considering these data, the HIV infection rate among young women in Cote d'lvoire, and evidence of changing attitudes towards birth spacing, a low-price distribution programme of female condoms for all women is recommended, with an educational component and the community participation.