Sambasivankrishnakumar H; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 246 (abstract no. 14320).
Kerala Voluntary Health Services Mullankuzhi Kottayam, India.
ISSUE: Factors which can reduce risk in sexual behaviour are individual specific. So providing many alternative choices of factors for maintaining safe sex behaviour based on the opinions of people will be more cost effective and popular. PROJECT: Being the only 100% literate state in India and having most impressive health indices, it looks ironical that HIV infection steadily increases in Kerala. Hetrosexual promiscuity is found to be the cause of infection in about 98% of the cases while organised sex trade is not identifiable in Kerala. In this context, sexual behaviour being highly personalised, probing into factors which can promote and maintain safe sex behaviour, as perceived by the peoples groups can help in designing effective interventions. From a group of NGO representatives attending on AIDS awareness programme in Kerala, through brainstorming, 8 factors which promote safe sex behaviour as per their opinion were identified. The effectiveness and acceptability of these factors in 92 men from different parts of Kerala belonging to different religion and different age groups between the age of 28 & 51 was studied. A list of these 8 factors were given to them to be relisted in order of their choice and acceptance, for the promotion & maintenance of safe sex behaviour. The index score (the sums of the products of their order of choice multiplied by bonus score) of all these 8 factors were calculated. RESULT: The factor with highest index score was enjoyable sex within marriage (623) followed by knowledge on non-penetrative sex (575), Adolescent sex education (552), skill in sexual communication (502) condom use (413) information on hazards on unsafe sex (331), Government owned commercial sex centres (169) and legislation against sex crime and unsafe sex (147). LESSONS LEARNED: Enchancing the enjoyability of sexual relationship within marriages and providing effective sex education to adolescents will help majority of men to maintain safe sex behaviour. These factors can be used as cost effective, culturally compatible and need based intervention strategy. The components of these factors could be integrated in HIV/AIDS and sexual health programmes for better acceptance by people's group.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Adolescent
- Biomedical Research
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Humans
- India
- Male
- Safe Sex
- Sex Education
- Sexual Behavior
- Unsafe Sex
Other ID:
UI: 102228596
From Meeting Abstracts