Behavior assessment of women attending a sexually transmitted disease clinic in Vitória, Brazil

Abstract

Background – Studies about sexual risk behaviors can provide information to support design strategies to control the spread of HIV infection. Objective: To assess sexual risk behaviors among women attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic in Vitória, Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among women attending an STD/AIDS reference center. Enrolled participants were interviewed and provided a blood sample to determine HIV status. Results: A total of 276 women participated. among 284 selected; 109 (39.5%) were HIV-positive and 167 (60.5%) HIV-negative. Median age was 31 years (interquartile range (IQR)24–36) and 69% of women were between 18 and 34 years of age. Women reported high access to information about STD (87%) and AIDS (90%) but information about sexuality was less common (55%). HIV-positive women asked their partners to use condoms more often than HIV-negatives (31% vs. 5%, p=0.02), and were more likely to have used a condom at last intercourse (65% vs. 33%, p<0.01). Among all patients, questions regarding risk of HIV transmission through sexual intercourse (99.6%) and needle sharing (99.2%) were most frequently answered correctly, while questions regarding risk of HIV transmission through blood donation (57%) were least. Conclusions: Though this population reports easy access to information and services for HIV/ sexually transmitted diseases, most report little understanding of unsafe sexual behaviors, particularly HIV-negative women.

Interactions and the Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among People Living With Hiv/Aids

“…[10][11][12][13] A adesão ao tratamento antirretroviral inclui aspectos de uma subjetividade individual e de interações sociais, construídas e reconstruídas ao longo do tempo sobre a infecção pelo HIV. 14,15 O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi compreender a influência das interações sociais na terapia antirretroviral em pacientes em início de tratamento.…”