HIV Infect Women Conf. 1995 Feb 22-24;:P87. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE

This paper explores an innovative health policy to educate sexually active women on female-controlled barrier methods that they can use to reduce their risk of sexually transmitted HIV infection. This risk reduction policy stresses the use of the male condom, but recognizes that not all women are willing or able to negotiate condom use with their male partner(s). In response to the urgent need to enable women to protect their own health, the policy includes barrier methods that women can control, namely, the use of female condoms, diaphragms and spermicides. The approach is to present women with a hierarchy of risk reduction options, ranging from the method which affords the most protection to that which provides the least protection. The policy was developed by the New York State Department of Health, based on a thorough review of the research literature and in consultation with a national expert panel of researchers, women's health care providers, and women's advocates. Included in the presentation will be a review of the female-controlled barrier options available to reduce sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, the scientific literature supporting the use of these methods for disease prevention, and a discussion of how the policy is being implemented and evaluated.

Contraceptive Devices, Female Female Human HIV Infections/*PREVENTION & CONTROL/TRANSMISSION Risk Factors Spermatocidal Agents ABSTRACT