Unique Factors that Place Older Hispanic Women at Risk for HIV: Intimate Partner Violence, Machismo, and Marianismo

Abstract

Hispanic women who are 50 years of age and older have been shown to be at increased risk of acquiring HIV infection due to age and culturally related issues. The purpose of our study was to investigate factors that increase HIV risk among older Hispanic women (OHW) as a basis for development or adaptation of an age and culturally tailored intervention designed to prevent HIV-related risk behaviors. We used a qualitative descriptive approach. Five focus groups were conducted in Miami, FL, with 50 participants. Focus group discussions centered around 8 major themes: intimate partner violence (IPV), perimenopausal-postmenopausal related biological changes, cultural factors that interfere with HIV prevention, emotional and psychological changes, HIV knowledge, HIV risk perception, HIV risk behaviors, and HIV testing. Findings from our study stressed the importance of nurses' roles in educating OHW regarding IPV and HIV prevention.

HIV testing practices among Latina women at risk of getting infected: a five-year follow-up of a community sample in South Florida

“…Low rates of testing and barriers to HIV testing in older women were previously documented in the baseline sample (Craig et al, 2012) and in other studies among Latina women in Miami (Cianelli et al, 2013). Specifically in Florida, newly reported HIV cases in adults 50 year old or older increased by 58% between 2003 (18.6% of total) and 2012 (29.7% of total) (Florida Department of Health, 2013c).…”

Sociocultural Determinants of Risky Sexual Behaviors among Adult Latinas: A Longitudinal Study of a Community-Based Sample

“…However, traditional Latino gender roles— marianismo and machismo —also heighten Latinas’ risk of HIV infection [15,16,17,18]: according to machismo, males should be sexually dominant and have multiple sex partners; according to marianismo, Latina women should be docile and obedient [17]. Relatedly, Latinas who have less control in the relationship are significantly more likely to have unprotected sex with their primary partners [19].…”

“…IPV is linked to substance use behaviors and other risky health behaviors and sociocultural factors among poor Latinas living in an urban setting, thereby increasing their risk of engaging in risky sexual behaviors [17,33,34,35,36]. IPV increases the risk of HIV among Latinas due to an increased likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior [16,37,38]. Specifically, women experiencing IPV are at increased HIV risk because many of them are forced to have sex with their infected partners and they have a limited or compromised ability to negotiate safe sex practices such as condom use [17,38].…”

Analysis of Violence against Elderly Woman

“…Particularly serious are cases of behaviour associated with the risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as reported by some of the reviewed papers (Cianelli et al, 2013;Richards et al, 2013).…”