(WTNH) - Startling new statistics show women are now the fastest growing segment of the population being infected with HIV in this country and around the world. Prevention is key and the Director of the Institute for Community Research in Hartford, Dr. Margaret Weeks has the latest on a new study.

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Information provided by our guest:

Study of Sustained Female Condom Use in Hartford, CT: 2008 Summary of Project Findings
Institute for Community Research, Hartford, CT.

Background: 
Women are now the fastest growing group becoming infected with HIV, both in this country and around the world. It is important that women and their partners have access to all effective and acceptable methods of protection to choose from.

The female condom was approved by the FDA and has been available on the market since 1993. It has proven in tests to be as effective as the male condom for preventing both unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV. It is also important because it's a prevention method that women can take charge of, since it is the woman who wears it. Studies in the U.S. and other countries have shown that many women and men find the female condom to be highly acceptable, and even prefer it over the male condom. Yet female condom use remains low.
 
The Institute for Community Research is a non-profit community-based research organization based in Hartford. In 2004 the Institute was funded by the National Institute on Mental Health to conduct a study of female condom use for HIV/STI prevention in Hartford women and men. We surveyed nearly 500 women and conducted interviews with 32 couples regarding their attitudes about the female condom and their use of it for HIV prevention or birth control. We also conducted repeated community assessments in Hartford clinics, social service organizations, pharmacies, and other retail establishments to look for female condoms and for anyone willing to explain their proper use to patients or customers who wanted to use them. We showed everyone who took our surveys how to use the female condom properly and gave them 4 to try with their partners, and we told them where they could find more if they wanted to buy them or get more for free. The following are some findings of the study.Increased and sustained female condom use:
 
At the time of their first survey, most survey participants (86%) had never used female condoms, or had tried them but decided not to use them again.
 
However, after being shown how to use it correctly and provided with some female condoms, among those women who returned for a follow-up survey 1 month later, the percent who used them at least occasionally increased significantly (from 14% to 31%), and these numbers remained at the same level among those who returned again 10 months after their first survey.These findings suggest that once female condoms are accessible and people know how to use them properly, many will adopt them at least for occasional use for prevention purposes.
 
Partners' female condom trial: 
Among 32 couples who completed a 2-week trial of the female condom, 88% said that they were somewhat likely or very likely to use female condoms in the future with their partner, even though they found aspects of using them inconvenient and had initial difficulty using them.
Most of those in the trial who had either neutral or mostly negative attitudes towards female condoms reported that they were still likely to use them again with their partner, despite those negative attitudes, because they wanted the protection.

Community assessment of female condom availability:Findings from repeated community assessments in Hartford indicate that female condoms are largely unavailable for purchase and difficult to find for free; also, they became even less available over the period of the study from 2004-2008.
 
In brief interviews with 32 clinical health care providers, while 90% indicated they were familiar with the female condom, only 78% knew how to use them properly or had discussed them with female patients, and less than half (48%) had discussed them with male patients.
 
 These findings indicate that the problem begins with availability of female condoms and information from trusted sources, like doctors, clinics and pharmacies, before this effective prevention method will be truly available for use by those who need or want them.