A Systematic Review of Behavioral Interventions to Promote Condom Use

von Sadovszky, Victoria

Monday, 18 November 2013

Victoria von Sadovszky, PhD, RN
Breana Draudt, BSN
Samantha Boch, BSN
College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to describe the characteristics of effective interventions to promote condom use and safer sexual practices.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to describe the best clinical interventions to prevent transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health problem. Realistically, condom use is still the primary means in which to prevent STIs. Many behavioral intervention studies have been performed to increase condom use across multiple populations.

Aims: The purpose of this paper is to examine Level I evidence of behavioral intervention studies to promote condom use utilizing Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt’s (2011) guidelines. The following question was used to guide this review, “Among heterosexual adolescent and young adults, do behavioral interventions improve condom use and other safer sexual practices and reduce STIs compared to the usual care; and if so, what are the characteristics of successful interventions?”

Methods: A systematic search for literature was conducted in the following databases: Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, PubMed, and Psychological and Behavioral Sciences Collection. The following parameters were placed on the search: 1) a meta-analysis or level 1 synthesis of literature containing only intervention (randomized control trials or quasi-experimental) studies; 2) peer-reviewed journals; 3) published in the past 10 years (2002 – 2012); 3) had adolescents and/or adults as the sample (13 – 44 years); and 4) were published in English.

Results: Behavioral interventions were effective in promoting condom use and other safer sexual practices and reducing STIs. They were not effective in promoting abstinence. Tailoring to certain characteristics of the population and including skills building exercises were primary characteristics in successful interventions

Implications: There is a preponderance of evidence that behavioral interventions do promote condom use and reduce STIs across diverse groups of individuals. Clinicians can use these interventions with confidence in practice.

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