Achieving zero new HIV infection, unsafe sexual practices of out of school border youths

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the women infected with the Human Inmunodefficiency Virus (HIV) who were seen at the Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia from January 1989 to December 1996. Material and Methods: We did a retrospective chart review of their demographic and medical registers. We used the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) classification for the HIV infection. (Stages I-IV). Results: We included 236 women, from 17 to 60 years old, with a mean age of 30.4 years. The number of diagnosed cases per year of infected women increased from 5 in 1989 to 63 in 1996. The probable means of acquisition of infection was heterosexual intercourse in 212 patients (90.2%). Only had one sexual partner in her life 113 (47.8%) of the patients seen. There were 4 (1.6%) sexual workers and there were no intravenous drug users. A percentage of 23.4% have had other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD), and these were more prevalent in women who had risky sexual practices (p=0.005). Out of the 236, 69 women had diagnosis of Acquired Inmunodefficiency Syndrome (AIDS) The most frequent AIDS-defining condition was the Wasting Syndrome in 23 women (33.3%). There were 19 deaths within the study period. The mean survival time after the AIDS diagnosis was 10.6 months and the most frequent death cause was Tuberculosis and Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia. Conclusion: The fact of having a predominantly heterosexual transmission and that there is a high percentage of monogamous women and women with few sexual partners make us suppose that it is probably their partners risk sexual behavior what exposes women to HIV infection. We must underline the importance of an adequate information to women who start their sexual life and of the risks these bring, and the diffusion of the use of condoms to prevent this infection.

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Unsafe injecting practices, sexual risk behaviours and determinants of HIV among men who inject drugs: Results from Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance in India

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1177/0956462418769808 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (11) ◽

pp. 1066-1075

Author(s):

Pradeep Kumar ◽

Bhavna Sangal ◽

Shreena Ramanathan ◽

Savina Ammassari ◽

Srinivasa Raghavan Venkatesh

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Sexual Risk ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

High Risk Group ◽

Sexual Practices ◽

Risk Behaviours ◽

Indian States ◽

Behavioural Surveillance ◽

Sexual Risk Behaviours

In India, while an overall reduction in HIV is achieved among most key populations, the continued higher prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWIDs) is an area of concern. This paper analyses unsafe injecting and sexual risk behaviours in male PWIDs according to HIV status and also examines the determinants of HIV infection in this high-risk group. Data from India’s Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance, conducted across 29 Indian states and Union Territories among 19,902 male PWIDs, were used. Informed consent was obtained and men aged 15 years or more, who used psychotropic substances or drugs in the past three months for non-medical reasons were recruited for the survey. Results from the multivariable analysis suggest that drug use debut at age 25 years or above (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.41, confidence interval [CI]: 1.05–1.88), engagement in drug use for a longer duration (AOR: 1.81, CI: 1.32–2.48), injecting three times or more per day (AOR: 1.53, CI: 1.1–2.12), sharing of needle/syringes (AOR: 1.34, CI: 1.02–1.76), self-reported sexually transmitted infections (AOR: 1.55, CI: 1.12–2.14) and higher self-risk perception for exposure to HIV (AOR: 2.08, CI: 1.58–2.75) increase the likelihood of HIV infection. Sustained higher prevalence, unsafe injecting and risky sexual practices are major challenges which may prevent India from reaching the ‘end of AIDS’ by 2030. This underscores the need for adoption of a tailored, evidence-driven HIV prevention approach that adequately addresses local needs to limit the spread of HIV within this population, and thereby prevents the onward transmission of HIV to the general population.

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Aids-Related Knowledge, Beliefs and Risk Behaviors in a Sample of Crack Addicts

Journal of Drug Issues ◽

10.1177/002204269402400313 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 537-553 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M.E. Khalsa ◽

M.R. Kowalewski ◽

R. Lunn ◽

M.D. Anglin ◽

K.A. Miller

Keyword(s):

Hiv Infection ◽

Risk Behaviors ◽

Hiv Transmission ◽

Sexual Transmission ◽

Sexual Practices ◽

Treatment Programs ◽

Male Veterans ◽

Related Risk ◽

Crack Use ◽

Consistent Basis

This longitudinal study examines male veterans with a history of cocaine dependence and treatment, focusing on the relationship between levels of crack use and HIV-related knowledge, beliefs and risk behaviors. Over half the subjects were African-American and the majority were heterosexual. A survey instrument was administered at one and two years after initiating treatment. HIV serotesting was conducted at each interview which showed the rate of seropositivity to be low at both points. Knowledge about HIV transmission increased significantly over time for the sample, but no differences were significantly related to level of crack use. Few subjects report the use of condoms on a consistent basis, regardless of crack use level. However, both the number of sex partners reported and beliefs about personal susceptibility to HIV infection increased as the level of crack use increased. Our crack-using subjects had not fully internalized their risk of HIV infection or were fatalistic about their ability to change HIV-related risk behaviors. Either of these possibilities presents a significant challenge to education and prevention efforts targeted to crack users. AIDS education efforts in drug treatment programs may need to more strongly emphasize the sexual transmission routes of HIV infection and highlight the effects of cocaine use on sexual practices.

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Sex Workers and HIV/AIDS in India

Encyclopedia of Social Work ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1189 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Sunny Sinha

Keyword(s):

Hiv Prevention ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Work Practice ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Social Work Practice ◽

Sexual Practices ◽

Indian Society ◽

Sex Worker ◽

Different Types

The risk of HIV infection looms large among male, female, and transgender sex workers in India. Several individual, sociocultural, and structural-environmental factors enhance the risk of HIV infection among sex workers by restricting their ability to engage in safer sexual practices with clients and/or intimate partners. While most HIV prevention programs and research focus on visible groups of women sex workers operating from brothels (Pardasani, 2005) and traditional sex workers, for example, Devadasis (Orchard, 2007); there is a whole subgroup of the sex worker population that remains invisible within HIV prevention programs, such as the male, female, and transgender sex workers operating from non-brothel-based settings. This paper provides an overview of the different types and contexts of sex work prevalent in Indian society, discusses the factors that increase a sex worker’s risk of HIV infection, describes the varied approaches to HIV prevention adopted by the existing HIV prevention programs for sex workers, discusses the limitations of the HIV prevention programs, and concludes with implications for social work practice and education.

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