Prevent Aids by Correct Condom Use - Buy the safest Condoms Now. 

Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing heterosexual sexual transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Research on the effectiveness of latex condoms in preventing heterosexual transmission is both comprehensive and conclusive. The ability of latex condoms to prevent transmission has been scientifically established in laboratory studies as well as in epidemiologic studies of uninfected persons at very high risk of infection because they were involved in sexual relationships with HIV-infected partners.

The most recent meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies of condom effectiveness was published by Weller and Davis in 2004. This analysis refines and updates their previous report published in 1999. The analysis demonstrates that the consistent use of latex condoms provides a high degree of protection against heterosexual transmission of HIV.

It should be noted that condom use cannot provide absolute protection against HIV. The surest way to avoid transmission of HIV is to abstain from sexual intercourse or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected.

HIV / AIDS

AIDS is, by far, the most deadly sexually transmitted disease, and considerably more scientific evidence exists regarding condom effectiveness for prevention of HIV infection than for other STDs. The body of research on the effectiveness of latex condoms in preventing sexual transmission of HIV is both comprehensive and conclusive. In fact, the ability of latex condoms to prevent transmission of HIV has been scientifically stablished
in “real-life” studies of sexually active couples as well as in laboratory studies.

Laboratory studies have demonstrated that latex condoms provide an essentially impermeable barrier to particles the size of STD pathogens. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Theoretical basis for protection. Latex condoms cover the penis and provide an effective barrier to exposure to secretions such as semen and vaginal fluids, blocking the pathway of sexual transmission of HIV infection. Epidemiologic studies that are conducted in real-life settings, where one partner is infected with HIV and the other partner is not, demonstrate conclusively that the consistent use of latex condoms provides a high degree of protection.

The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual intercourse, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected. For persons whose sexual behaviors place them at risk for STDs, correct and consistent use of the male latex condom can reduce the risk of STD transmission. However, no protective method is 100 percent effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD. Furthermore, condoms lubricated with spermicides are no more effective than other lubricated condoms in protecting against the transmission of HIV and other STDs. In order to achieve the protective effect of condoms, they must be used correctly and consistently. Incorrect use can lead to condom slippage or breakage, thus diminishing their protective effect. Inconsistent use, e.g., failure to use condoms with every act of intercourse, can lead to STD transmission because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse. While condom use has been associated with a lower risk of cervical cancer, the
use of condoms should not be a substitute for routine screening with Pap smears to detect and prevent cervical cancer.

Centres for disease control and prevention

Knowledge of Condoms and AIDS

To avoid AIDS, sexually active people who are not mutually monogamous must know about AIDS, know about condoms, know that condoms prevent AIDS, know how to get condoms, and know how to use them correctly. Population Reports has analyzed new findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 27 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
 
These data and other studies suggest that, if people are to protect themselves and their partners against AIDS, levels of knowledge must rise. In most countries almost everybody has heard of AIDS. Knowledge of condoms is also widespread. Yet many people who know about AIDS and about condoms do not know that using condoms can prevent AIDS. This lack of knowledge can be deadly.

Knowledge of AIDS

Two DHS questions ask about knowledge of AIDS. One question, without mentioning AIDS, asks respondents to list all the "diseases that can be transmitted through sex" that they know. The other question mentions the disease by name: "Have you ever heard of an illness called AIDS?"
When prompted with the name of the illness, the great majority of respondents in every country say they have heard of AIDS. This response rate does not necessarily mean that respondents know how AIDS is transmitted, however, or that it can be prevented by using condoms.

Not surprisingly, fewer people mention AIDS when asked to name diseases spontaneously, without prompting. For example, in Mali only 70% of married men spontaneously mentioned AIDS compared with 97% who said, when prompted, that they had heard of AIDS. In Haiti 77% of never-married women spontaneously mentioned AIDS compared with 97%, when prompted.

In many countries men are more aware of AIDS than are women, while never-married women are somewhat more likely than married women to have heard of AIDS. In most Latin American countries, however, awareness of AIDS is virtually universal among men and women alike. Differences between married men and women in awareness of AIDS are greatest in West Africa. In Niger, the extreme case, 90% of married men surveyed in 1997 said they had heard of AIDS compared with 51% of married women.

Other studies in China, Papua New Guinea, and Turkey also have found substantial lack of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and other STIs.

Knowledge of Condoms

Most people who have heard of AIDS also know about condoms. In general, among married people who have heard of AIDS, men are more likely than women to know about condoms. Among all men and women who have heard of AIDS, never-married men—the group most likely to be at risk of AIDS—are most likely to know about condoms.
 
A person who reports knowing about condoms nevertheless may not know much about them, including how to use them correctly. In Uganda a study in 1993 found that virtually every respondent had heard of condoms, but only about 1 in every 10 knew how to use a condom correctly. In Ghana qualitative research in 1997 found that many young women avoided condoms out of an incorrect belief that condoms usually broke and that they caused a variety of health problems. In Gujarat, India, a study in 1997 reported that only 15% of respondents knew that a condom should not be reused, and only 7% knew not to use an oil-based lubricant with a latex condom.

JHU/CCP In Mexico and elsewhere, condoms are sold in pharmacies and other retail outlets. Many people know that condoms prevent STIs.

No STI, including HIV, can pass through an intact latex condom.

Knowledge that Using Condoms Can Prevent AIDS

In the DHS, without mentioning condoms, one question asks respondents who have heard of AIDS what steps a person can take to avoid it. Among those who have heard of AIDS, never-married men and women generally are more likely than married people to know that condoms can prevent AIDS. Nevertheless, in several surveyed countries—Benin, Chad, Mozambique, and Uganda—only a minority of never-married men who have heard of AIDS know that condoms can prevent AIDS.
 
In all surveyed countries a majority of never-married men who are aware of AIDS and know about condoms also know a source of condoms. In 11 of 13 surveyed countries the same is true of never-married women. Married women are generally least likely to know a source of condoms.

Credits: Robert Gardner, Ph.D., Richard D. Blackburn, M.S., and Ushma D. Upadhyay, M.P.H. Bryant Robey, Editor. Stephen M. Goldstein, Managing Editor. Research assistance by Athena Tapales and Vera Zlidar. Design by Linda Sadler. Production by John Fiege, Merridy Gottlieb, Peter Hammerer, and Deborah Maenner.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors.

Prevent Aids by Correct Condom Use - Buy the safest Condoms Now.