CONTEXT
Dual method use is featured in South Africa's new reproductive health policies as an important means of family planning as well as of prevention of infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, little is known about current levels and predictors of dual method use in South Africa or about interventions that might promote dual protection.
METHODS
A total of 554 individuals procuring public-sector condoms were recruited from 12 primary care facilities across South Africa. Participants responded to a semistructured baseline interview and returned for qualitative follow-up interviews over the next five weeks.
RESULTS
Of the 554 subjects participating in baseline interviews, 16% had used both a condom and another form of contraception at their most recent sexual encounter. In a multivariate analysis, dual method use was independently associated with increased schooling (odds ratio of 1.1) and previous instruction on condom use from health care providers (1.7). Qualitative data from follow-up interviews suggest that dual method use occurs when a man's desire to protect himself against HIV or other STIs coincides with his female partner's desire to prevent pregnancy.
CONCLUSIONS
The implementation of STI and pregnancy risk assessment and counseling and the promotion of dual protection in primary health care settings have the potential to increase dual method use in South Africa.
International Family Planning Perspectives, 2002, 28(2):119-121