http://www.hivplusmag.com/NewsStory.asp?id=19838&sd=01/30/2009-02/01/2009

In the study "Sexuality, HIV Risk, and Potential Acceptability of Involving Adolescent Girls in Microbicide Research in Kisumu, Kenya" [Sexual Health, Volume 5, Number 4] the authors "sought to understand the individual, family, and community-level factors that may influence the acceptability of microbicide use and research involving adolescent girls."

In Kisumu the researchers conducted 30 interviews with girls ages 14 to 17 as well as nine focus groups with adolescent girls, their parents, and community leaders. Discussion topics included adolescent sexuality, HIV prevention methods, perceptions about the use of microbicides, and views about microbicide research involving adolescent girls.

The results found that while adolescent sexuality is stigmatized, it is also "acknowledged to be a natural part of the 'adolescent stage.' Desperation to stop the spread of HIV among youth and support for female-initiated HIV prevention methods led to enthusiasm about microbicides and future microbicide research."

However, participants raised numerous concerns about microbicides, including the difficulty of using such a product in a timely fashion "due to the rushed, unplanned nature of adolescent sex"; the fear of experimental products; concerns about product efficacy; and parents' worries that "supporting microbicide use in youth would defy societal pressures that denounce adolescent sexual activity."

"Microbicide acceptability for youth in sub-Saharan Africa may be bolstered by desperation for new methods to stop the spread of HIV yet hindered by misgivings about experimental HIV prevention methods for youth," the authors concluded. "Understanding and addressing the microbicide's perceived benefits and shortcomings -- as well as the broader context of adolescent sexuality and HIV prevention -- may facilitate future research and promotion of microbicides in this high-risk group."