Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the screened population and enrolled population by randomisation group.
| Baseline characteristics n (%) | Screened | Intermittent use (N = 60) | Continuous use (N = 60) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N1 | n (%) | |||
| Age in years (median, IQR) | 347 | 28 (20–35) | 28 (26–31) | 29 (26–32) |
| Education: | ||||
| No schooling | 347 | 43 (12) | 9 (15) | 6 (10) |
| Primary school2 | 230 (66) | 39 (65) | 41 (68) | |
| Secondary school2 | 68 (20) | 10 (16) | 11 (18) | |
| More than secondary school | 6 (2) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | |
| Earns own income3 | 289 | 170 (59) | 37 (62) | 34 (57) |
| Partnership: | ||||
| Married | 347 | 213 (61) | 37 (62) | 36 (60) |
| Not married but living together | 88 (25) | 16 (27) | 16 (27) | |
| Not married, regular partner but not living together | 42 (12) | 7 (12) | 8 (13) | |
| No regular partner | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | |
| Had additional sex partners in last 3 months | 275 | 16 (6) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) |
| Lifetime sex partners: | ||||
| 1–3 | 289 | 233 (81) | 51 (85) | 53 (88) |
| 4 or more (range: 4–300) | 56 (19) | 9 (15) | 7 (12) | |
| Condom use in last three weeks | ||||
| Always | 288 | 42 (15) | 12 (20) | 9 (15) |
| Sometimes | 155 (54) | 24 (41) | 35 (58) | |
| Never | 91 (32) | 23 (38) | 16 (27) | |
| Used condom during last sex act | 289 | 113 (39) | 23 (38) | 23 (38) |
| Pregnancies: | ||||
| 0 | 289 | 8 (3) | 2 (3) | 3 (5) |
| 1 | 57 (20) | 12 (20) | 10 (17) | |
| 2 | 89 (31) | 22 (37) | 17 (28) | |
| 3 or more (range: 3–7) | 135 (47) | 24 (40) | 30 (50) | |
| Any vaginal deliveries | 289 | 244 (84) | 55 (92) | 51 (85) |
| Any Caesarean sections | 289 | 44 (15) | 6 (10) | 11 (18) |
| Any past contraceptive use4 | 289 | 180 (62) | 41 (68) | 38 (63) |
| Injectables | 289 | 134 (46) | 32 (53) | 27 (45) |
| Contraceptive pills | 289 | 64 (22) | 11 (18) | 18 (30) |
| Copper intra uterine device | 289 | 2 (1) | 1 (2) | 0 |
| Pregnancy test positive | 285 | 19 (7) | 0 | 0 |
| BV5:Nugent score 0–3 | 185 | 82 (44) | 24 (40) | 24 (41) |
| Nugent score 4–6 | 22 (12) | 7 (12) | 7 (12) | |
| Nugent score 7–10 | 81 (44) | 29 (48) | 28 (47) | |
| Yeasts on wet mount | 186 | 11 (6) | 2 (3) | 4 (7) |
| Trichomonads on wet mount | 186 | 13 (7) | 5 (8) | 4 (7) |
| HIV by algorithm | 285 | 59 (21) | 0 | 0 |
| HSV-2 serology | 285 | 149 (52) | 21 (35) | 26 (43) |
| Syphilis serology | 285 | 25 (9) | 3 (5) | 3 (5) |
| Chlamydia PCR | 186 | 15 (8) | 4 (7) | 6 (10) |
| Gonorrhoea PCR | 186 | 15 (8) | 2 (3) | 5 (8) |
BV = bacterial vaginosis; IQR = interquartile range; HIV = human immunodeficiency virus; HSV-2 = herpes simplex virus type 2; PCR = polymerase chain reaction.
1. 351 women initiated the screening process. Some of the eligibility criteria were assessed by structured questioning and others by clinical assessment or laboratory testing at either the screening and/or enrollment visit. When a woman was determined to be ineligible, screening procedures were usually not completed. This is why the data in the ‘Screened’ column of Table 1 were not always collected for all 351 women.
2. Includes women who had some primary schooling but did not complete it. The same applies to secondary schooling.
3. Enrolled women reported informal trade/small business (37/71), employment by tea or coffee company (15/71), cleaning/cooking (6/71), construction (3/71), hairdressing (2/71), and other (8/71). Nine enrolled women reported to have exchanged sex for money or goods in the past year.
4. Women could report more than one method.
5. One slide was unreadable for the randomised population.