Materials and methods
A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used to generate both quantitative and qualitative data through self-administered questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews respectively. The study population in this study was youths between 18 and 35 years of age in selected tertiary training institutions in Migori County. Youths in tertiary colleges come from diverse backgrounds and regions, are accessible and most of them have the knowledge about HIV/ AIDstransmission and its prevention mechanisms.
The study employed two sampling techniques: Purposeful sampling of the tertiary institutes in Migori County and proportionate random sampling of research participants. Purposive sampling was used to identify the target study population (the youths) on the basis of specific considerations by the researcher such as, the health of the youths is of paramount importance to the building our nation since they represent majority work force and professionals.
Reliability of the instrument was estimated using the split half method. Odd-even split method was used to obtain the two halves. The following Spearman Brown prophecy formula is used to calculate the reliability coefficient. The Cronbach’s alpha was calculated and was found to be at (α =0.817) which showed a high degree of reliability of the variables.
The questionnaire comprised of sections that looked into the demographic characteristics of the youths, accessibility of the female condom by the youths, the cost of the female condom, and socio-cultural barriers to use of the female condoms. Qualitative data were collected from the youths using open ended questions, focused group discussions and in depth interviews with the health care workers at the tertiary institute health clinics. The study was done in two phases; phase one involved data collection using self-administered questionnaires administered to youths (18 - 35 years of age) and the second phase involved conducting two Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews with women of 18 - 35 years of age in each of the selected institutions.
The data collected was then grouped into categories, tested for homogeneity and normality of distribution, Chi Square was used to check for the significant associations between the variables at 95 percent confidence interval, a p value of p ˂ 0.05 was used. The qualitative information collected was coded into the respective categories illustrating the various themes, then was entered into computer for thematic analysis using N-Vivo version 11. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 23). Bivariate analysis was used to measure the strength of associations while the multivariate analysis was used to adjust the confounders. Descriptive statistics specifically tables and bar graphs were used to present the findings.