World AIDS Day Is Thurs, Dec. 1: A Study of College Students in South Africa Aims To Increase Use of the Female Condom

November 29, 2005-- (New York, NY)-- In “Yesterday,” the South African film about a young married woman who contracts HIV from her husband, the lead character, asked by a clinic doctor whether or not she uses a condom during sex, says simply “But, I am married.” Marriage as it turns out is not enough to protect against HIV/AIDS, a fact all too evident abroad, particularly in countries like South Africa, where prostitution is rampant. To help slow the spread of the virus, researchers in the HIV Center at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University—among the most prolific investigators in the study of HIV—have forged partnerships with counterparts in South Africa.

One joint collaboration focuses on promoting female condom use. A study of university students will aim to improve women’s skills in inserting the female condom and negotiating its use with male partners, two significant barriers facing its widespread acceptance. Dr. Joanne Mantell, principal investigator in the US, was one of a number of researchers actively involved in the South African government’s initial promotion of barrier methods to combat HIV in 1995. The study of university students is one of the few to include men.

“In a patriarchal culture where men may determine what, if any, method of sexual protection is used, their involvement from the very beginning will help increase the likelihood that couples will use the female condom continuously, not just initially,” said Dr. Mantell. Increasing understanding among men will help demystify the female condom, which will also provide women with increased bargaining power in their relationships, particularly in countries like South Africa where there is a high prevalence of HIV.

Dr. Mantell is collaborating with Dr. Jennifer Smit, principal investigator in South Africa and Director of Contraceptive Research at the Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand.

For interviews on this and other HIV-related topics, please call 212-543-5421 or email morrisd@pi.cpmc.columbia.edu

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