Intra-couple communication dynamics of HIV risk behavior among injecting drug users and their sexual partners in northern Vietnam

Dangerous Subtlety: Relationship-Related Determinants of Consistency of Condom Use Among Female Sex Workers and Their Regular, Non-Commercial Partners in Hai Phong, Viet Nam

“…Additionally, sex workers in this sample earned more money than their partners, and this economic power may counter any power differences partners may have due to gender norms or age differences. One study in Viet Nam concluded that women had only limited ability to reduce HIV risk with their partners and it recommended that condom promotion efforts should initially focus on men because the strategies used by women to use condoms may only be temporary solutions [9]. This study indicates there is a more complex picture of condom use in relationships.…”

“…Vietnamese IDUs have reported not disclosing their injecting risk behavior to their partners. Among them, one IDU reported he did this so his wife could ''feel assured'' and not be ''worried,'' yet the couple did not use condoms in spite of his continued injecting risk behavior [9]. Some sex workers hide their occupation from their partners to ''manage the relationship'' [10].…”

HIV Prevention Interventions for Female Sexual Partners of Injection Drug Users in Hanoi, Vietnam: 24-Month Evaluation Results

“…Most of this literature does not address the very serious dimension of HIV serodiscordance in primary sexual relationships. Although results from studies in Asia differ, some suggest that female sexual partners of IDUs may not to be drug users themselves or have sex partners outside their primary relationships [6]. This suggests that sexual transmission of HIV from IDUs to their partners may be an important factor in evolving HIV epidemics in Vietnam and elsewhere.…”

“…Studies from Vietnam [3,[5][6][7], Thailand [8], China [9,10], South Asia [11], Indonesia [12], Russia [13], and the U.S. [8,14,15] reveal low rates of condom use by IDUs with their primary sexual partners, especially their wives and regular girlfriends. Most of this literature does not address the very serious dimension of HIV serodiscordance in primary sexual relationships.…”

Continuity and Change in Premarital Sex in Vietnam

“…However, there is concern that the epidemic will spread beyond core high-risk groups if men who visit female sex workers or use intravenous drugs transmit the infection to their wives or other female partners through unprotected sex. 14 This pattern of transmission has been the primary means by which HIV has spread in Thailand and Cambodia, and studies of drug users in northern Vietnam suggest that the majority of these individuals are sexually active and engaged in needle sharing, making this scenario plausible for Vietnam as well. 15 Some studies suggest that the prevalence of HIV and other STIs is rising among commercial sex workers, who are often inconsistent in their condom use with clients and who frequently use injection drugs.…”