188236 Duet for menstrual protection: A feasibility study in Zimbabwe

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sarah Averbach , School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Nuriye Sahin-Hodoglugil, MD MPH , Women's Global Health Imperative, RTI International, San Francisco, CA
Petina Musara , University of Zimbabwe-University of California San Francisco, Harare, Zimbabwe
Adlight Chandipwisa , University of Zimbabwe-University of California San Francisco, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tsungai Chipato, MD , University of Zimbabwe-University of California San Francisco, Harare, Zimbabwe
Ariane Van der Straten, PhD MPH , Women's Global Health Imperative, RTI International, San Francisco, CA
Background: Commercial menstrual products are often inaccessible or unaffordable in developing countries. Duet, a new cervical barrier, is being developed for contraception, to collect menstrual flow, and as a microbicide-delivery mechanism. Duet is discrete, easy to clean, reusable, affordable and does not produce paper/plastic waste.

Objective: Our goal was to explore the hypothetical acceptability of Duet for menstrual protection among women in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Methods: A survey and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted with 43 women aged 18-45 to gain information about their menstrual practices and attitudes regarding using Duet for menstrual protection.

Results: Over half reported that the cost of menstrual products is a problem and 67 % said there had been >1 time when they did not have enough money to purchase products within the past three months. All 43 women reported that if Duet was available, they would “definitely” try it, and 86 % reported that using the Duet for menstrual protection would make a difference in their lives. All women reported that it was very important to them that Duet is low cost and easy to clean. FGD corroborated survey findings, highlighting unhygienic practices due to the lack of affordable options for menstrual protection and a genuine interest in Duet.

Discussion: Preliminary findings indicate that overall, managing menses is a problem among these Zimbabwean women. Findings suggest that Duet would be acceptable and that it would be feasible to conduct a user-acceptability study of the Duet as a menstrual cup in Zimbabwe.

Learning Objectives:
1)Describe the challenge Zimbabwean women experience in managing menses 2)Describe the triple benefit of the Duet as a method of contraceptive, STI prevention, and menstrual protection

Keywords: International Reproductive Health, Medical Devices

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Duet is an investigational device currently being studied for contraception, STI prevention (when used with a vaginal microbicide BufferGel) and for menstral protection. Duet was not used by the participants, it's use was demonstrated on a pelvic model.

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was resposible for planning and coordinating every aspect of this study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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