Literature review
In a research done in the United States on availability of messages related to female condom use, it was found out that majority of the websites had little details in promotion of female condom use. This posed a barrier in use of the female condom. Those websites which had the message on female condom were not detailed, but just mentioned the female condom as a barrier contraceptive method for family planning [2]
Women from low income urban U.S, reported that when the female condom was introduced for the first time many women tried to use it increasing the incidence of using the female condom. However, there wasn’t sustainable or continued use of the female condom after the first use due to unavailability of the condom and challenges faced during the first trial. It was reported that female condom were available during the time of campaigns and promotion of the female condom but were not available in the nearby shops for continued use [3].
In Sub-Saharan Africa, women accept and are ready to use the female condom when they are given access to the device and exposed to interventions which support the use of the female condom. This was found out after analyzing various researches on acceptability of female condom in Sub-Saharan Africa [4].
In another study in Zimbabwe, it was revealed that unavailability of the female condoms in the shops and other sales outlets led to low utilization of the female condom. The respondents reported that whenever they sought the female condom they never accessed them [5]
Low utilization of female condom was related to low level of awareness among the youths, acceptance and availability in shops and chemists determined use of female condom in Ghana. The youths who readily sought and found the female condom used it while those who didn’t find the female condom in the nearest shops and chemists reported not to have used the female condom [6]
On accessibility, the distance to the nearest shop and availability of the female condom can promote use of the female condom or deter one from having safe sex. Male condom dispensers are located strategically near point of use to reduce the distance to pick them; however when one travels long distance to access female condom and incase of unavailability of the female condom this reduces chances of using the female condom [7].