Background: Female (internal) condoms could be viable alternatives to male (external) condoms. Our objective was to describe barriers that adolescent mystery callers encountered when trying to access female condoms in U.S. pharmacies.
Methods: In mid-2016, university students seeking "condoms for girls" called retail pharmacies in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Utah. We evaluated differences in product availability and callers' experiences by pharmacy type.
Results: Of our final sample (n=1475), only eight outlets (0.5%), all national chains, definitely stocked female condoms. Of those not (or probably not) stocking female condoms, 11% tried to be helpful (e.g., offered to special order), 59% made no substantive comment, and 30% were unhelpful (e.g., dismissive, rude, gave wrong information). National chain employees were significantly more unhelpful (34% vs 22%, p< .01).
Conclusion: Almost no pharmacies in four southwestern states stocked female condoms in mid-2016. Pharmacy staff frequently were unhelpful, which could deter adolescent use of female condoms even if new types become available.
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