Knowledge and perceptions of HIV among peripartum women and among men whose wives are of reproductive age, northern Thailand

To investigate knowledge and perceptions of HIV transmission risk and interest in vaginal microbicides in northern Thailand, we conducted 14 focus group discussions and 80 interviews with men and women in Chiang Rai province. Women were recruited from antenatal or postpartum clinics, and men from va...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Contraception (Stoneham) 2003-07, Vol.68 (1), p.47-53
Main Authors: Tharawan, Kanokwan, Manopaiboon, Chomnad, Ellertson, Charlotte E., Limpakarnjanarat, Khanchit, Kilmarx, Peter H., Coggins, Christiana, Chaikummao, Supaporn, Mastro, Timothy D., Elias, Christopher J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anti-Infective Agents - administration & dosage
Biological and medical sciences
Condoms
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Heterosexual transmission
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV/AIDS
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Microbicides
Postpartum abstinence
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Risk behavior
Risk perception
Spouses - psychology
Thailand
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
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Summary:To investigate knowledge and perceptions of HIV transmission risk and interest in vaginal microbicides in northern Thailand, we conducted 14 focus group discussions and 80 interviews with men and women in Chiang Rai province. Women were recruited from antenatal or postpartum clinics, and men from various work sites. Participants evinced substantial knowledge about HIV, with two exceptions important for prevention campaigns: (a) confusion about the window period between a new infection and positive HIV-test result and (b) overestimation of the safety of extramarital sex with partners who are not sex workers. Most participants reported no personal HIV risk. Participants described Thai women as generally vulnerable to HIV infection because of the unlikelihood of condom use with their husbands and because women cannot control their husbands’ extramarital behavior. Women apparently face particular risk after childbearing; peripartum abstinence averages 6–9 months, during which time some Thai men may have alternative sex partners. Women, and to a lesser degree, men were interested in potential microbicides, although they voiced many thoughtful questions about the products and about efficacy trials.
ISSN:0010-7824
1879-0518
DOI:10.1016/S0010-7824(03)00112-4