Condom promotion in women attending inner city general practices for cervical smears: a randomized controlled trial

Background. Although condom promotion schemes have been widely piloted in UK general practices, there have been no rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness, Objectives. To see if a practice-based sexual health education intervention increases the number of women having smears who are given condoms and advice on avoiding STDs. To see if this low cost intervention affects subsequent condom use. Method. We conducted a cluster randomized trial of condom promotion in 1382 women aged <35 years attending 28 South London general practices for cervical smear tests. Results. More women in intervention than control practices reported receiving advice on avoiding sexually transmitted infections (27% versus 10%) and being given condoms (28% versus 1%, P < 0.05). However, there was no difference in subsequent condom use, even in the 22% of women reporting greater than or equal to 2 sexual partners in the previous year. Conclusions. To provide evidence of effectiveness, future interventions may need to be more intensive or focus on higher risk groups.