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Impact of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring on Sexual Experiences and Intimate Partnerships of Women in an HIV Prevention Clinical Trial: Managing Ring Detection and Hot Sex

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Abstract

Vaginally-inserted HIV prevention methods have been reported to impact the sexual experience for women and their partners, and hence impacts acceptability of and adherence to the method. We analyzed in-depth interviews and focus group discussions about participants’ sexual experiences while wearing the ring, collected during the MTN-020/ASPIRE phase 3 safety and effectiveness trial of a dapivirine vaginal ring for HIV prevention in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Most women reported that partners did not feel the ring during sex, however, women felt they had to manage their partners’ interaction with or reaction to the ring. In maintaining positive relationships, women were concerned about partners’ discovering ring use and about ensuring that partners had a good sexual experience with them. Finally women were concerned about how they themselves experienced sex with the ring. Some found that the ring made the vaginal environment more desirable for their partners and themselves.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Microbicide Trials Network, which is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (UM1AI068633, UM1AI068615, UM1AI106707), with co-funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health, all components of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Women’s Global Health Imperative, RTI International, 351 California St. Ste. 500, San Francisco, CA, 94104, USA

    Nicole D. Laborde, Elizabeth Pleasants & Elizabeth T. Montgomery

  2. Wits Reproductive Health, HIV Institute (WRHI), Johannesburg, South Africa

    Krishnaveni Reddy & Thesla Palanee-Phillips

  3. Desmond Tutu HIV Research Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa

    Millicent Atujuna

  4. Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Research Unit, Kampala, Uganda

    Teopista Nakyanzi

  5. UZ-UCSF Collaborative Research Programme, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Miria Chitukuta

  6. HIV Prevention Research Unit, South Africa Medical Research Council, Durban, South Africa

    Sarita Naidoo

  7. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jared M. Baeten

Authors
  1. Nicole D. Laborde
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  2. Elizabeth Pleasants
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  3. Krishnaveni Reddy
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  4. Millicent Atujuna
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  8. Thesla Palanee-Phillips
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  9. Jared M. Baeten
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  10. Elizabeth T. Montgomery
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On behalf of the MTN-020/ASPIRE Study Team

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole D. Laborde.

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All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Laborde, N.D., Pleasants, E., Reddy, K. et al. Impact of the Dapivirine Vaginal Ring on Sexual Experiences and Intimate Partnerships of Women in an HIV Prevention Clinical Trial: Managing Ring Detection and Hot Sex. AIDS Behav 22, 437–446 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1977-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1977-1

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