Disease Prevention: Zimbabwean Women Value Diaphragm as Clandestine Method to Possibly Prevent HIV

A University of California-San Francisco study found that almost half the Zimbabwean women surveyed said the ability to use a diaphragm clandestinely was very or extremely important. The percentage rose to 80 percent if their partners had other sexual partners or if it was difficult to get their partners to use condoms.

Mi Suk Kang, M.P.H., statistician with the UCSF Women's Global Health Imperative, presented the findings on July 29, 2003, at the 15th Biennial Congress of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Ottawa, Canada. "We found that if a woman distrusted her partner or if she has had bad experiences getting her partner to use condoms, she attached much greater importance to the clandestine use of the diaphragm," Kang said.

One hundred eighty-one sexually active Zimbabwean women participated in the study. They had previously been identified as inconsistent condom users. They were almost all married and ranged in age from 16 to 45. Almost all had used a diaphragm in the previous 2 months; just over 20 percent told their partners every time they used it. The study also provided free condoms to participants.

"This study adds to the promise of the diaphragm as a potential tool to prevent HIV transmission because it shows that it can be used without one's partner knowing it is being used. Women urgently need an HIV prevention tool that they control," said WGHI director and study co-author Nancy Padian.

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