Wilson DW, Cawthorne P; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 913 (abstract no. 43334).
Medecins sans Frontieres (Belgium), Bangkok, Thailand.
ISSUES: A thriving underground Gay culture exists in Vietnamese towns. Appropriate AIDS prevention information for Gay men is not available. The importance of homosexual transmission of HIV in Vietnam is unknown. PROJECT: A young Vietnamese Gay man worked as a peer educator with Gay men in Nha Trang, a small town. Over 6 months (August 1996 to February 1997) he made contact with more than 70 men. He made regular contact with 12 men who went to a beach for sex most evenings. All of them had heard of AIDS. None of them knew that HIV was an infection, but thought people could develop AIDS if they came into contact with "body fluids". They thought anal sex was safer than oral sex because the anus is dry and the mouth is wet. In spite of this, their commonest sexual activities were oral sex and mutual masturbation, but all 12 men had anal sex at least occasionally. Only one man had ever used a condom. RESULTS: The men learned to use a condom more quickly if the peer educator demonstrated on someone's penis rather than on his fingers. He distributed a total of 200 condoms. For the men with whom he made regular contact, forming a relationship was as important as having sex. The peer educator spent much of his time discussing honesty in sexual relationships with his target group. LESSONS LEARNED: Vaguely worded AIDS prevention campaigns may contain misleading hidden messages. Condoms need to be presented in an interesting way. To access Gay men in Vietnam, we need to give correct information but also make friendly contact and share their feelings.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Condoms
- Counseling
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Homosexuality
- Homosexuality, Male
- Humans
- Infection
- Male
- Sexual Behavior
- Vietnam
- organization & administration
Other ID:
UI: 102231499
From Meeting Abstracts