Female Condom Skills Training (FEMIT)

The Female Condom Skills Training (FEMIT) is a 4-session intervention for young adults delivered by a health educator. The first two 2-hour sessions are conducted individually with each participant: the health educator discusses safe sex practices and demonstrates how to effectively use of both male and female condoms; communication skills; and personal barriers to female condom use. Throughout the intervention, participants are encouraged to practice communication skills that enable them to talk most effectively with their partners about female condoms. The third session is conducted in small groups of 6-10 women and is also facilitated by 2 health educators. This session (2.5 hours) focuses on barriers to and eroticization of female condom use and negotiation skills building through interactive activities, role play, and video. The last 30-minute session is conducted over the telephone as a follow-up: health educators review personal goals with each participant and discuss any perceived additional barriers to female condom use. Per self-reported sexual activity frequency, participants receive supplies of male and female condoms.

The original intervention was conducted in 4 San Francisco Bay Area cities (Concord, Mountain View, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco) in California between 2003 and 2005. Women were randomized to the FEMIT intervention group and participated in the trainings (n = 213) or they were randomized to the comparison group and received Women's General Health Promotion (n = 196).

The goals of the program are to Increase use of female condoms and increase the frequency of protected sex.

FEMIT is successful in increasing female condom use and also in increasing protected sex among women. The FEMIT intervention has the potential to to be an effective supplement to other safe sex education programs currently available at family planning clinics.

Intervention participants were significantly more likely to report female condom use at least once at the 3-month follow-up (p <0.001) and at the 6-month follow-up (p < 0.001) than the Women’s General Health Promotion participants. At the 6-month follow-up, FEMIT participants reported a significantly higher proportion of vaginal or anal intercourse acts protected by any male or female condom than the comparison group (p = 0.028). At both of the 2 follow-up time points, FEMIT participants reported a significantly higher proportion of vaginal or anal intercourse acts protected by a female condom (p = 0.04) and by any male or female condom (p = 0.032) than comparison participants.