Wear and care of the SILCS diaphragm: experience from three countries

Women have been regularly underestimated in their ability to care for and wear cervical barrier devices such as diaphragms appropriately.

Data from two non-randomised, non-blinded, non-significant risk acceptability studies of a novel cervical barrier device, the SILCS diaphragm, conducted in the Dominican Republic (n = 20), South Africa (n = 21) and Thailand (n = 20), are used to provide insights into the fundamental question of how women actually use an intravaginal device within the constraints of low-resource settings. In all sites, couples not at risk of pregnancy and at low risk of sexually transmissible infections used the SILCS diaphragm four times and provided feedback on acceptability, care and use of the device via product use questionnaires and gender-specific debriefing interviews.

Data from user acceptability studies in these three countries provide an intimate view of how women care for and store the SILCS diaphragm, and both female and male perceptions about handling and re-using it. Results support the view that women are able to wear and care for diaphragms successfully in a variety of settings. In general, male partners were also supportive of care and reuse of the diaphragm.

While the results from these studies indicate that women are able to find ways to cope successfully with the logistics of wearing and caring for an intravaginal device, further supportive evidence from a woman-centred perspective is crucial for reproductive health policymakers and program managers. The authors contend that it is time to reassess perceived constraints to barrier protection.