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  • Title: 'Condom gap' examined in Bangladesh survey.
    Journal: Netw Res Triangle Park N C; 1984; 5(3):5. PubMed ID: 12279799.
    Abstract:
    Until recently no attempt had been made to explore the "condom gap" in Bangladesh, that is the discrepancy between high and increasing sales and distribution of condoms and low levels of reported use. In 1983 the Bangladesh Social Marketing Evaluation, Research and Trainingg (B-SMERT) Corporation undertook a study of the condom gap in an effort to identify the causes. If the number of condoms purchased from the Social Marketing Project (SMP) plus the number distributed free by the government in 1981 is divided by the 17 million married couples of reproductive age, and that figure is divided by the number of condoms used by the average couple each year, one gets a prevalence rate of about 5%. The May 1981 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (CPS) found that only 1.6% of couples in which the wife was under age 50 were using condoms, roughly 1/3 of the expected percentage. In actual numbers, only 30 of the 93 million condoms sold or distributed free were accounted for. Data collection for B-SMERT'S condom user survey took place in mid 1983 with over 5000 respondents questioned by interviewers of their own sex. Based on the survey findings, substantial underreporting by wives, especially in semirural areas, appears to be the major reason for the condom gap. The 2nd most plausible explanation is that annual supply requirements are somewhat above 100, especially for the regular users and for the urban affluent users. The noncontraceptive use of condoms ranks 3rd in importance, but the misuse appears to be on a fairly small scale. The explanation that many people use condoms irregularly and do not report such use is probably a partial explanation of the underreporting. No single factor adequately explains the entire condom gap. In the urban samples, as many as 40% mentioned having 1 or more problems with the condom, compared with 1/4 of the rural sample. 48-80% of those reporting problems spontaneously mentioned condoms breaking. 25-44% indicated that the breakage led to gregnancy, with more women mentioning this than men. Overall, this adds up to about 17-31% of ever users reporting conception while using condoms. The information about condom use in Bangladesh compiled by this survey will be used by managers and researchers in the public and private sectors.
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