Once the most commonly used female contraceptive method, the diaphragm is being re-evaluated for prevention against some STIs, including HIV. However, provider views about this prescription-based method are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify facilitative strategies to increase diaphragm use. The NGT was employed using a novel web-based interface to systematically elicit and prioritize responses to a specific question about what can be done to encourage providers to recommend diaphragm use. Participants were identified using purposeful and snowball sampling.
Panel 1 identified 22 strategies for encouraging providers to recommend diaphragm use, with seven perceived as relatively more important. Panel 2 identified 31 strategies, nine of which accounted for 77% of the votes. Both sessions highlighted that to make the diaphragm a more plausible option, educational materials and tools are needed to better inform providers and patients about the method and its specific advantages.
The study concluded that enhanced, Internet-based NGT offers the family planning and reproductive health care field a powerful and inexpensive tool for systematically collecting and analyzing expert opinion. Results are being used to develop a questionnaire to examine different strategies that may help promote diaphragm use and refine ideas for intervention design.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/34/4/227
