European Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
8th Annual Conference - AD 2000: Advances in AIDS Care, September 1997
Key points of session:-
Mexican/American HIV prevention strategies - Chris McQuiston, University of Carolina
Notes taken and webplaced by Ian Hodgson on 22.10.97
- HIV is relatively prevalent among ethnic minorities in the USA, yet an understanding of factors effecting the process is lacking
- unprotected sex is common among Latinos; though only 8.8% use a condom with their regular partner, and 19.2% with non-regular partners
- this 'risky' behaviour is partly due to no negotiation and little communication during intimate encounters
- this study endeavoured to establish the Latin-Mexican perception regarding sexual interactions, and used focus groups conducted in English and Spanish, in which the genders were separated and 'leaders' (dominant individuals) were matched
- conversations were taped, transcribed, and the content analysed
- patterns that emerged included:
- Prevention strategies: men take a shower; women thought the bathroom is their domain; both sexes felt cleanliness prevented disease
- Communication: both sexes identified trust as important, though males felt trust should manifest before communication, and females communication was needed before trust
- both sexes felt that knowing someone a long time made them 'safe'
- Barriers to protection: the 'machismo' factor - men earn, protect, and are invulnerable; use of condoms betrays a lack of trust
- Timing is essential: the topic of safe sex cannot be introduced before there is communication; but discussing a condom indicates a problem with trust - the reality may be that: men need sex; women blindly trust
- trust and perception of risk are inversely related
- in education programmes, maybe condom use could be promoted as a way of keeping 'clean', and therefore integrating with their belief system; the 'macho' role taken by males, possibly a barrier to condom use, could also be an advantage if linked to 'taking care' of the family