Riverside Men's Knowledge and Ways of Acting Regarding Condom Use

Abstract

Objective to analyze riverside men's knowledge and ways of acting regarding condom use, based on the social representations about the device. Method a qualitative study anchored in the Theory of Social Representations and conducted with 21 riverside men from the São Carlos do Jamari community, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. Data collection was performed between January and July 2019 by means of an interview with a semi-structured questionnaire. For data processing, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used, obtaining the participants' characterization through descriptive statistics, in addition to IRAMUTEq® for the lexical analysis of the speeches, by means of the Descending Hierarchical Classification, obtaining five thematic classes, among which Class 5 was deepened on in this study. Results the social representations were produced by adult participants, with complete High School, per capita family income of up to one minimum wage, and sexually active with irregular condom use. It was identified that the participants develop a cognitive dimension, which reveals their knowledge about condoms as a form of prevention; however, elements such as interference in pleasure, stable relationship and a negative evaluative dimension result in irregular use of the device and in risky behaviors in their sexual practices. Conclusion social representations are anchored in reified knowledge, in the discourse of the preventive functionality of condoms, and in masculinity stereotypes. Consequently, the riverside men's knowledge is not manifested in their behaviors. Therefore, this social group lacks health promotion actions that enable changes in their care behaviors and practices.

Social and individual vulnerability factors associated with syphilis among populations living on islands in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Studies have shown that the syphilis epidemic and its repercussions differ according to populations [ 4 – 10 ]. Identifying and recognizing the differences and specificities of this process becomes essential in the design and implementation of policies aimed at assisting groups most vulnerable to syphilis [ 11 – 13 ]. In rural communities, the prevalence of syphilis in adults ranged from 0.2% among women in rural Nepal [ 5 ] to 16% among men living with HIV in rural Uganda [ 8 ].…”