Pinheiro FG; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12; 14: abstract no. C10806.
Secretaria Municipal de Saude, Pires Ferreira, Brazil
BACKGROUND: The incidence of AIDS in Brazil is on ages of 20 to 34 years old. The contamination occurs, probably, in the end of the adolescence and beginning of the adult life. The objective is describe adolescents knowledge and attitudes on HIV/AIDS, in a small and poor town in Northeast of Brazil. METHODS: In a transversal study among adolescents in Pires Ferreira, a sample of 112 adolescents, between 15 and 19 years old, had been interviewed (total population of the city: 9.865 habitants). In this study a not structureded questionaire about HIV/AIDS was applied. RESULTS: The majority (72%) said that sexual relations are the main form of transmission of the illness and in second place are the injectable drugs, syringes and needles. The prevention form more use was the condoms and in second place were the use of dismissable syringes. But only 35% knew the possibility of healthy carrier. About the difficulties of those people to use condoms, 29% of the responses had been that it diminishes the pleasure, 19% said that they are ashamed of speaking to their partner about the condom. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the adolescents have a reasonable knowledge on forms of transmission and prevention of AIDS, although it don't means that they have safe sex. It also supplies subsidies intervention studies as, for example, difficulties of adolescents with the use of condoms.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Attitude
- Brazil
- Condoms
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
- Humans
- Incidence
- Knowledge
- Poverty
- Research
- Safe Sex
- Sexual Behavior
Other ID:
UI: 102253514
From Meeting Abstracts