Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women
Autor(a) principal: | |
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Data de Publicação: | 2018 |
Outros Autores: | , |
Tipo de documento: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Título da fonte: | Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
Texto Completo: | http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/33143 |
Resumo: | Background: Young women make up most cases of HIV infection in Portugal (e.g., 26% in 2012), but their sexual behaviour, ability to recognize sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk in partners, and knowledge and practice of safe sex are underresearched. Methods: We studied these issues in a group of 177 women from Northern Portugal, together with their social, educational, and religious background. The women filled out several self-report questionnaires developed in the USA that have been adapted and validated for use in Portugal. They assess HIV knowledge, risk perception, and sexual risk behaviour. Results: We documented good knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, although there are still some myths; 79.9% of the women knew that condoms prevent HIV transmission, but only 46% of them declared to use them regularly. Thus, knowledge does not imply adequate preventive behaviour. Women lacking higher education had poorer knowledge of HIV biology and of partner HIV risk. Despite being aware of HIV cases in their communities, most women deemed themselves at little risk, especially those lacking higher education, with many arguing that monogamy protects them, and, importantly, many preferring to ignore their partners' current and past behaviour when assessing their exposure. Conclusion: These results point to important intervention targets for campaigns to curb STD infections among young women. |
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Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese womenHIVPortuguese womenRisk perceptionSafe-sex knowledgeSexual behaviourBackground: Young women make up most cases of HIV infection in Portugal (e.g., 26% in 2012), but their sexual behaviour, ability to recognize sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk in partners, and knowledge and practice of safe sex are underresearched. Methods: We studied these issues in a group of 177 women from Northern Portugal, together with their social, educational, and religious background. The women filled out several self-report questionnaires developed in the USA that have been adapted and validated for use in Portugal. They assess HIV knowledge, risk perception, and sexual risk behaviour. Results: We documented good knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, although there are still some myths; 79.9% of the women knew that condoms prevent HIV transmission, but only 46% of them declared to use them regularly. Thus, knowledge does not imply adequate preventive behaviour. Women lacking higher education had poorer knowledge of HIV biology and of partner HIV risk. Despite being aware of HIV cases in their communities, most women deemed themselves at little risk, especially those lacking higher education, with many arguing that monogamy protects them, and, importantly, many preferring to ignore their partners' current and past behaviour when assessing their exposure. Conclusion: These results point to important intervention targets for campaigns to curb STD infections among young women.Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica PortuguesaCosta, Eleonora C. V.McIntyre, TeresaFerreira, Domingos2021-05-14T14:42:10Z20182018-01-01T00:00:00Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/33143eng0870-902510.1159/00048646685070230767info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAP2023-09-26T01:43:34Zoai:repositorio.ucp.pt:10400.14/33143Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T18:26:47.699789Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
title |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
spellingShingle |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women Costa, Eleonora C. V. HIV Portuguese women Risk perception Safe-sex knowledge Sexual behaviour |
title_short |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
title_full |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
title_fullStr |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
title_full_unstemmed |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
title_sort |
Safe-sex knowledge, self-assessed HIV risk, and sexual behaviour of young Portuguese women |
author |
Costa, Eleonora C. V. |
author_facet |
Costa, Eleonora C. V. McIntyre, Teresa Ferreira, Domingos |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
McIntyre, Teresa Ferreira, Domingos |
author2_role |
author author |
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv |
Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa |
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv |
Costa, Eleonora C. V. McIntyre, Teresa Ferreira, Domingos |
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv |
HIV Portuguese women Risk perception Safe-sex knowledge Sexual behaviour |
topic |
HIV Portuguese women Risk perception Safe-sex knowledge Sexual behaviour |
description |
Background: Young women make up most cases of HIV infection in Portugal (e.g., 26% in 2012), but their sexual behaviour, ability to recognize sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk in partners, and knowledge and practice of safe sex are underresearched. Methods: We studied these issues in a group of 177 women from Northern Portugal, together with their social, educational, and religious background. The women filled out several self-report questionnaires developed in the USA that have been adapted and validated for use in Portugal. They assess HIV knowledge, risk perception, and sexual risk behaviour. Results: We documented good knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, although there are still some myths; 79.9% of the women knew that condoms prevent HIV transmission, but only 46% of them declared to use them regularly. Thus, knowledge does not imply adequate preventive behaviour. Women lacking higher education had poorer knowledge of HIV biology and of partner HIV risk. Despite being aware of HIV cases in their communities, most women deemed themselves at little risk, especially those lacking higher education, with many arguing that monogamy protects them, and, importantly, many preferring to ignore their partners' current and past behaviour when assessing their exposure. Conclusion: These results point to important intervention targets for campaigns to curb STD infections among young women. |
publishDate |
2018 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2018 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z 2021-05-14T14:42:10Z |
dc.type.status.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |
dc.type.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv |
http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/33143 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/33143 |
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
0870-9025 10.1159/000486466 85070230767 |
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação instacron:RCAAP |
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Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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RCAAP |
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RCAAP |
reponame_str |
Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) |
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Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informação |
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1799131984737337344 |