Female condom effective in fight against HIV
According to a new economic analysis of the DC Female Condom program, a public-private partnership to provide and promote FC2 Female Condoms (Female Health Co., Chicago), the program prevented enough HIV infections in the first year alone to save more than $8 million in future medical care costs over and above the cost of the program.1
The partnership was led by the Washington, DC, Department of Health, supported by the Washington (DC) AIDS Partnership, CVS Caremark of Woonsocket, RI, and the Female Health Co. The coalition provided educational services and distributed more than 200,000 FC2 Female Condoms in areas with disproportionately high HIV female prevalence rates. Financial support from the MAC AIDS Fund based in New York City allowed the project to involve five other women's health and HIV/STD prevention community-based organizations to assist with education and distribution activities.
The Washington, DC, district still has a serious HIV epidemic, and women continue to be at risk, said Gregory Pappas, MD, PhD, senior deputy director of the HIV/AIDS STD Administration in the DC Department of Health. At particular risk are African-American women, who constitute just 58% of the district's female population but represent 90% of all new female HIV cases and 93% of living AIDS cases among women.2
"It is critical that we empower women, especially those at greatest risk, to take control by increasing awareness of the female condom and providing both education and access to this highly effective and affordable option that empowers women to protect themselves," said Pappas in a statement accompanying the publication of the new research.
The current research paper, a retrospective cost, threshold, and cost-utility analysis, was performed by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health of Baltimore. Analysts at the school determined the overall cost of the program, which distributed 200,000 female condoms and provided educational services, at $414,186. This yields a total gross cost per condom used during sex of $3.19, including educational services, the analysis notes.
The number of HIV infections that would have to be averted for the program to be cost-saving was 1.13 in the societal perspective and 1.50 in the public sector payor perspective, with the cost-effectiveness threshold of HIV infections to be averted at 0.46, analysts determined. Overall, mathematical modeling analyses estimated the intervention averted approximately 23 HIV infections and resulted in a "substantial" net cost savings, the scientists conclude.1
"These results clearly indicate that delivery of, and education about, female condoms is an effective HIV prevention intervention and an outstanding public health investment," said David Holtgrave, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Similar community HIV prevention programs involving the female condom should be explored for replication in other high risk areas."
Check online training
The Female Health Co. has launched a free, interactive FC2 Online Training Program for healthcare providers. Since the U.S. introduction of the FC2 Female Condom in 2009, the company has conducted live trainings across the country to raise awareness of the female condom. The program may be accessed at www.fc2training.com.
How can the online program help clinicians in providing female condoms to their patients? According to Rebecca Bouck, U.S. Program Manager at the Female Health Co., the new FC2 online training program helps clinicians on several levels. It provides knowledge and skills training, and it pairs them with access to materials and product samples, she explains.
The program includes detailed product information, provider bias examination, anatomy training, and a variety of "how-to-use" demonstrations to arm clinicians with the knowledge and confidence needed to talk to clients about the FC2 condom, says Bouck. By the end of the hour-long training, participants possess new skills, are able to articulate the benefits of FC2 Female Condom use, and are prepared to tackle previous misconceptions about female condoms, she notes.
Every participant who successfully completes the program also receives a training supply kit, which aids in product demonstration and provides access to materials specific to FC2 Female Condom education, says Bouck. The first participant from an organizational location to successfully complete the FC2 Online Training post-test will receive 100 FC2 Female Condoms to support initiating an FC2 outreach program, notes Bouck.
The online training is available in English. According to company officials, the training will be adapted as needed for global audiences and translated into additional languages, such as French, Portuguese, and Spanish, for use throughout the world.
References
- Holtgrave DR, Maulsby C, Kharfen M, et al. Cost-utility analysis of a female condom promotion program in Washington, DC. AIDS Behav 2012. Doi 10.1007/s10461-012-0174-5.
- District of Columbia Department of Health, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. District of Columbia HIV/AIDS Behavioral Surveillance Summary and Technical Reports 2008. Accessed at http://1.usa.gov/I41Sv0.
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