Health care providers: a missing link in understanding acceptability of the female condom.

Health care providers can play a key role in influencing clients to initiate and maintain use of the female condom, an underused method for HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention. In 2001-2002, based on semistructured interviews with 78 health care providers from four types of settings in New York City, we found that most providers had seen the female condom, but they had not used it and did not propose the method to clients. They lacked details about the method-when to insert it, where it can be obtained, and its cost. Gender of provider, provider level of training, and setting appeared to influence their attitudes. Unless and until provider training on the female condom is greatly improved, broader acceptance of this significant public health contribution to preventing HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancy will not be achieved.