skip navigation

December 19, 2002

Study shows high rates of ineffective condom use

Group Health finds 44 percent of at-risk women wait until intercourse begins

Seattle—A high percentage of young women who are at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are using condoms ineffectively according to a new study conducted by Group Health Center for Health Studies.

Published in the Dec. 2002 issue of the medical journal, AIDS Care, the study found that 44 percent of the 779 female condom-users surveyed had delayed using condoms until after intercourse began. Also, some 19 percent reported condoms breaking or slipping during intercourse.

"STD prevention efforts have been aimed largely at encouraging condom use," says Diane Civic, PhD, a Group Health epidemiologist and lead author of the study. "But if condoms are not used correctly, people are not protected from STDs and unintended pregnancies."

Women who delay condom use until after penetration are at risk because pre-ejaculate fluid may contain sperm or pathogens such HIV—the virus that causes AIDS, Civic explains. In addition, skin-to-skin contact may lead to the transmission of genital herpes or human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes genital warts and is linked to cervical cancer.

Civic’s study also showed that women who had a primary partner were more likely than those with non-primary partners to delay condom use until after sexual intercourse begins.

"One explanation for this may be that people relate unprotected sex with increased intimacy," says Civic. "In that case, we may need to help young women learn ways to foster intimacy without putting themselves at risk."

The study drew from a random sample of women ages 18 to 24 who got their care at Group Health Cooperative and Duke University clinics. The 779 women included in the telephone survey were sexually active, unmarried, not in a monogamous relationship, and had used condoms in the past three months.

The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Other investigators on the study were Delia Scholes, PhD, Laura Ichikawa, MS, and Lou Grothaus, MA, of Group Health’s Center for Health Studies; and Colleen McBride, PhD, Kimberly Yarnall, MD, and Laura Fish, MPH, of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center at Duke University.

About Group Health Center for Health Studies
Group Health Center for Health Studies conducts epidemiologic, health-services, and clinical research related to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of major health problems. Funded primarily through government and private research grants, the Center is located in Seattle, Washington.

Group Health Cooperative is the nation’s largest consumer governed health care system, serving nearly 600,000 people in Washington and Idaho.

Top