Beyond Monogamy: Opportunities to Further Reduce Risk for HIV Infection Among Married Zimbabwean Women with only One Lifetime Partner

The main objective of this paper was to identify HIV risk factors at the individual, partner, and partnership levels among married, lifetime monogamous women in a nationally representative sample of Zimbabweans aged 15–29 years. Cross-sectional data were collected through individual survey interview...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS and behavior 2010-02, Vol.14 (1), p.113-124
Main Authors: Hageman, Kathy M., Dube, Hazel M. B., Mugurungi, Owen, Gavin, Loretta E., Hader, Shannon L., St. Louis, Michael E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
Adolescent
Adult
Age Differences
Age Factors
AIDS
Cross-Sectional Studies
Family - psychology
Female
Females
Health Psychology
Health risks
HIV
HIV Infections - blood
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - psychology
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Husbands
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Infectious Diseases
Male
Marriage - statistics & numerical data
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Monogamy
Original Paper
Prevalence
Protection
Public Health
Risk
Risk factors
Risk-Taking
Sexual Abstinence - statistics & numerical data
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Partners
Sexually transmitted diseases
STD
Time Factors
Unsafe Sex
Wives
Womens health
Young Adult
Young adults
Zimbabwe - epidemiology
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Summary:The main objective of this paper was to identify HIV risk factors at the individual, partner, and partnership levels among married, lifetime monogamous women in a nationally representative sample of Zimbabweans aged 15–29 years. Cross-sectional data were collected through individual survey interviews among 1,286 women who provided blood for HIV testing. The HIV prevalence among these women was high (21.8%). HIV risk increased with female age, within-couple age difference of more than 5 years, the husband having children with other women, and the respondent being ‘extremely likely’ to discuss monogamy in the next 3 months with her husband. The latter suggests that women were attempting to communicate their concerns while unaware that they were already HIV positive. HIV risk largely appears related to the partner’s past and present sexual behavior, resulting in limited ability for married women to protect themselves from infection. Overall, lifetime monogamy offers insufficient protection for women.
ISSN:1090-7165
1573-3254
DOI:10.1007/s10461-009-9603-5