Condoms are a method of contraception used by both males and females. It acts as a barrier. A male condom constitutes a thin sheath that is usually made of latex (Alexander, 2016). On the other hand, the female condom is made of polyurethane sheath that has a flexible ring at the two ends (Edlin & Golanty, 2016). Condoms are intended for protecting people from contracting STIs during sexual intercourse. Besides, they are used as contraceptives. Condoms are grouped as class II medical devices since they exhibit the second lowest level of risk.
Various clinical studies have been conducted on various aspects of condoms. However, it is hard to find out how many studies have been carried out on the device. One of the clinical trials on the device is the study conducted by Macaluso and colleagues (2007) on the usefulness of the male and female latex and polyurethane condoms respectively as semen barriers during intercourse (Macaluso et al., 2007). This clinical trial employed a randomized controlled trial design. In this case, women subjects were recruited from Alabama and Birmingham and randomly assigned to either the group using male condoms or the one using female condoms. The participants swapped groups after the first round of the intervention. After every intervention, data concerning the types of mechanical failure and their frequencies were evaluated. Besides, data concerning semen exposure were also collected. The data collection process partly involved the assessment of the prostate-specific antigen in the vaginal fluid specimen taken before and after sex intercourse (Macaluso et al., 2007). A questionnaire was used in the data collection process.
In the study, the effectiveness of the use of male latex condom and female polyurethane condom in preventing the passage of semen during sexual intercourse were compared. The subjects that were assigned to the female condom use group numbered 55. On the other hand, 53 subjects were assigned to the male condom use group. This study took a period of one year given that it started in 2000 and ended in 2001 (Macaluso et al., 2007). In the study, mechanical problems were reported for 9% of the male condom uses (Macaluso et al., 2007). On the other hand, 34% of the female condom uses reported mechanical problems (Macaluso et al., 2007). Concerning semen exposure, moderate to high levels of postcoital prostate-specific antigen were detected in 3.5% and 4.5% of male and female condom uses respectively (Macaluso et al., 2007). The study also found that the values of moderate-high prostate-specific antigen tended to be more frequent with mechanical problems than with other problems. The study deduced that semen exposure during sexual intercourse is associated with mechanical problems (Macaluso et al., 2007). Another conclusion derived from the study is that both the male and female condom uses exhibit similar levels of risk to semen exposure despite the fact that they showed different frequencies of mechanical problems (Macaluso et al., 2007). These findings addressed the study questions adequately.
Even though this clinical trial found that male condom use exhibits less mechanical problems than the female condom use, the difference in the level of risk of semen exposure between the female condom use and male condom use is not significant. In other words, both the male and female condom uses exhibit similar levels of risk of semen exposure. This means that the two types of condoms have the same level of effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. These findings may inform changes in practice. In this case, while health practitioners should inform women that the both male and female condom use help prevent pregnancy, they should encourage them to choose male condoms over female ones since the use of male condoms exhibit less mechanical problems than the use of female condoms.
References
Alexander, L. L. (2016). New dimensions in women's health. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 109Top of Form
Edlin, G., & Golanty, E. (2016). Health & wellness. p. 227
Macaluso, M., Blackwell, R., Jamieson, D. J., Kulczycki, A., Chen, M. P., Akers, R., & Duerr, A. (2007). Efficacy of the male latex condom and of the female polyurethane condom as barriers to semen during intercourse: a randomized clinical trial. American journal of epidemiology, 166(1), 88-96.Top of Form
