Table 2.
Ring-Related Behaviors, Attitudes, and Perceptions-Overall and in the Qualitative Sample
| Total n = 94a |
Qualitative n = 23a |
|
|---|---|---|
| Cumulative ring adherence (reported at weeks 4, 8, and 12) | ||
| Ring was never out | 74% | 83% |
| Ring was never out for more than 12 h | 91% | 100% |
| Reasons for ring ever being out (asked by CASI) | ||
| Full expulsion (ring came out on its own) | 7% | 0% |
| Ring removed | 17% | 14% |
| Partial expulsion (ring put back in place without removal) | 17% | 18% |
| Ring acceptability (reported by CASI at week 12) | ||
| Ring never interfered with daily activities | 96% | 100% |
| Overall, how much do you like the ring?b | n = 93 | n = 23 |
| Like very much | 37% | 39% |
| Like | 54% | 52% |
| Dislike | 10% | 9% |
| Dislike very much | 0% | 0% |
| As a method to prevent HIV, which do you prefer to use?b | n = 91 | n = 20 |
| Ring | 65% | 65% |
| Condom | 9% | 13% |
| Both | 24% | 17% |
| Neither | 2% | 4% |
| Since you started the study, overall how easy or difficult was it to use the ring?b | ||
| Very easy | 76% | 74% |
| Easy | 23% | 26% |
| Difficult | 1% | 0% |
| Very difficult | 0% | 0% |
| Since you started the study, overall, how did it feel to have the ring inside of you every day?b | ||
| Very comfortable | 65% | 57% |
| Comfortable | 32% | 39% |
| Uncomfortable | 2% | 0% |
| Very uncomfortable | 1% | 4% |
| Vaginal ring is easy to insertb | 85% | 78% |
| Vaginal ring is easy to removeb | 80% | 78% |
| Perceived ring-associated changes in vagina | 33% | 43% |
| Vagina wetter | 18% | 30% |
| Vagina dryer | 10% | 4% |
| Problems experienced with ring | ||
| Any physical discomfort | 32% | 22% |
| Any emotional discomfort | 18% | 13% |
| Any pain | 13% | 4% |
a
Two of the 96 participants did not complete an exit CASI interview, one of whom was in the IDI subset.
b
Proportion of total sample previously reported in Chen et al.29 for select variables.
CASI, computer-assisted self-interview; IDI, in-depth interview.