Across Africa, the HIV virus has spreaded mostly through sexual intercourse. The healthcare professionals and researchers are trying to find out if people are most likely to take precaution in protecting themselves from the virus by using condoms. Their main focus was in the southern and eastern parts of Africa, where 1 in 4 adults are HIV positive. A Demographic and Health Survey was done in 1994 and revealed that 92% of men and 80% of women were able to mention at least one method that HIV is contracted; through sexual transmission.
However, only 23% of the men and 7% of women indicated that they use condoms. Many AIDS Awareness and family planning programs promote the use of condoms as being a major source of protection, however there were negative attitudes that came about when it was mentioned. Many of the Africans have suggested that condoms are a sign of unfaithfulness and mistrust. And for the men who agree with the use of the condom, availability was a problem. African men have majority of the control in decision making with regards to sexual encounters.
An example was used from the men of Zimbabwe, they expressed the belief that women need their partners permission to use contraceptives(Zellner,2003). Because of this man power of females, women tend to be placed in situations where they increase their risk of sexual transmitted diseases including HIV. Another study was done with men who were truck drivers. The researchers found that 72% of married men had multiple sex partners and 60% were unwilling to use condoms because they did not like the way they felt and were unaware of the risk of unprotected sex.
Condoms are not the most common method of contraception for women. Several of the men also have interactions with sex workers. With almost 70% of sex workers carrying HIV, the men have sex with those who do not insist on using condoms. Among secondary and college students, the persons with good knowledge of how HIV is transmitted were not using condoms, compared to those adults who had poor knowledge of HIV transmission. Method: This article is based on a 1994 Demographic and Health Survey of 5,653 partcipants, (4,429 women and 1,224 men). It was analyzed for respondents who had sex in the two months before the survey.
Theoretical Connection: The author was interested in finding out whether the accuracy of men and womens knowledge about AIDS predicted condom use in their most recent sexual interaction. Her hypothesis was that having more accurate knowledge about how HIV is transmitted would be associated with a greater likelihood of having used a condom at last sex. Findings Author Sara Zellner found that the accuracy of knowledge about AIDS did not significantly predict condom use. For the males the odds of using condoms was low among men 35 and older, compared to the 15-19 year olds.
The odds were also low for married men. Men with secondary or higher education were most likely to use condoms compared to uneducated men. Women 25 and older had lower odds of usibg condoms at their last intercourse than women ages 15-19. Odds were low for married women, however they were high for women with secondary or higher education compared to the uneducated. I was surprised to find out that men over 30 were least likely to use condoms. I just assumed that older men were more responsible at taking precaution in protecting themselves.
College Students Judgments and Perceptions of Persons With AIDS from Different Risks Groups. The AIDS epidemic in the United States has claimed over 250,000 lives and an estimate of over a million people are infected with HIV. Many view AIDS as a gay persons disease however the virus is spreading all through the entire population, leaving people form all the risks groups vulnerable. The CDC reported that the adult groups that have the highest rate of increase of the infection are IDUs and heterosexuals. The gay population has had an decrease in numbers. People look at AIDS differently than other diseases.
People with AIDS are also judged more harshly than those who have cancer or hepatitis. Those who were infected through sexual intercourse were treated worse than those who were infected through blood transfusions. Large levels of homophobia are related to more negative opinions of persons with AIDS, however there is no relationship between knowledge about AIDS and homophobia. Method: This article is based on questionnaires that were given to 104 females and 75 males, undergraduate students at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Their ages ranged from 18 to 54 years old.
All races African American, Alaska Native, Asian American, Hispanic American, European Americans and Native Americans. The freshmen made up 31. 9%, sophomores were 24,5%, juniors 18. 9% and seniors were 3. 5%. The AIDS questionnaire consisted of 12 questions to find out the participants knowledge of AIDS and HIV. Theoretical Connection: The author was trying to find out the different attitudes and feelings that college students have on the different risk groups. The authors hypothesis was that the participants viewed AIDS as a gay disease and that attitudes and feelings toward gay people affect evaluations of persons with AIDS.
FINDINGS: The results revealed that homophobia was a very important factor that affected the participants opinions of the examples that were used in the surveys. The hemophiliac was judged the least, than the heterosexuals, the gay person , then the IDUs. The IDUs were evaluated the most negatively on personal characteristics. Women were more tolerant and accepted persons with AIDS than the men were. My opinion on this article was that I agree with the findings because these are the reactions that I see going on around me.
As far as AIDS and gay people, a lot of people now still believe that only gay men can catch the disease and that only gay men are spreading it. I also notice how heterosexuals males do treat gay males very harsh and negatively. I do not know if it is a male ego thing, that he they be nice to them that it will rub off or what, but it is a very common behavior. Assessment of Students Knowledge of AIDS: Consideration of Differences in Perceptions and Actual Knowledge Prior to 1980, AIDS was not a big concern among the American society. The first AIDS case was found in 1980 in Los Angles, CA among 5 gay males.
From 1980 to 1996 the AIDS cases have spreaded from over a half a million people in the U. S. with an outcome of 350,000 deaths. AIDS has become the leading cause of death among Americans aged 25-44. There has been research done about sex education programs in schools that has helped adolescents. However many feel that teaching kids about sex leads to promiscuity. Based on research done one quarter of all new HIV infections in the U. S. occurs in young people under the age of 22. While the students appear to be knowledgeable of AIDS, there is still an information gap about AIDS transmission and other issues concerning AIDS.
Television and friends appear to be the main source of AIDS communication in the early 1990s. In 1995-96 the main communication source was newspapers, magazines, t. v. and school. Suggestions have been offered for providing more effective HIV prevention programs to the youth. Methods: The AIDS information of college students in the 1995-96 Health Interview Survey was used and compared to research that was done in 1990. A sample of 183 students were drwan from a sociology class at a southeastern Metropolitan University during 1995-96. All participants were voluntary.
The students were told the purpose for the study and guaranteed anonymity. The questionnaire had seven parts; background information, items dealing with sources that students receive knowledge about AIDS, perceptions on sex topics, attitudes about sexuality, views of sexuality services that are provided by the university health center, knowledge about AIDS and HIV and a open-ended question pertaining to AIDS and unprotected sex. Theoretical Connection: The author was trying to find the means of tracking students process in learning the important facts about AIDS.
Other studies have been done and had opposite conclusions, some indicated that students are knowledgeable while others indicate there are gaps of the AIDS knowledge of students. Findings: Most of the students were white, 69% were female, Protestant, single and in the age of 18 to 22 years old. For female students, the newspaper and magazines was their main source of information on AIDS. For males it varied, some said the newspaper and magazines but school was their source on prevention and TV was their source on treatment of AIDS. Less than half of the students considered themselves to be knowledgeable about AIDS.
The students who considered themselves very knowledgeable of AIDS education provided the correct answers compared to those who had little to no education. Sexual Experiences and Their Correlates Among College Students in Mumbai City, India. This article explores heterosexuals behavior and how it connects with college students in India. Recent reviews on sexual behavior and adolescent sexuality have been seen as a limited study and the findings could not be generalized. This was because the sample sizes were too small, and were mainly males.
Isolated studies have indicates that pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are rising in unwed teens in India. Teen pregnancy , the spread of STDs and the HIV epidemic has increased a lot in the recent years. There have been few studies that have examined sexuality and sexual behavior among unmarried youth in India, for a number of reasons. It has been said that the strict social norms overriding premarital sex, and marriage among young people prevent sexual behavior among them. Also, that the family and schools have greater control over the sexual behavior of unmarried youth.
Recent studies were done in different parts of the country that showed sexual behavior among unwed adolescents was rising, 20-25% were unmarried males, 6-10% were unmarried females who have had premarital sex. Other studies showed that having premarital sex was more moderate and the awareness of protection was declining. Method: This article was based on a 1997 survey conducted among 966 low-income college students in the metropolitan Mumbai. The study was based on empirical data that was gathered from a sample of low-income youth attending college in Mumbai.
The researchers focused on low income students because previous studies have been done mainly i English speaking students and those who attending elite colleges where majority of the student body were middle to upper-class. They believed that low-income families live in a restrictive environment and lack the resources and opportunity to explore their sexuality, compared to the higher income families. Also the elite colleges have sexuality education programs for their students, whereas these programs are rare or do not exist in low-income schools.
Data was collected in two parts, qualitative research was gathered in 1996, using focus groups and interviews to get an overview of students experiences on sex. This information was used for the second part , which was done in 1997 and consisted of surveys. This study was done at four colleges, with low-income student bodies, secondary and undergraduate courses in arts and science, both genders different age groups and from the three main academic programs. Findings: Among the 966 students who participated in the survey, 12 males and 6 females were married, therefore they were excluded from the final analysis.
The other remaining students;948, 65% of them were male and 35% were female. The 47% of males, and 13% of females said they have had a sexual experience with the opposite sex, 26% and 3% said they had intercourse. About 95% of the students classified themselves as being religious. Around 3/5s of both male and female had a moderate level of knowledge of issues related to sexual behavior. Overall, the students showed poor knowledge on being informed about STDs and AIDS awareness. My opinion on this article is amazement on how in India they are having the same social problems that we are having here in the United States.
A lot of their behavior and attitudes are similar to the ones that have been reported here. It is obvious that the problem nationwide is the lack of knowledge that people have about AIDS and other STDs. HIV Infections and Associated Costs Attributable to Syphilis Coinfection Among African Americans African Americans already have their share of preventable and treatable health conditions that they have to worry about, such as cancer, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, and diabetes. With all that HIV and AIDS among African Americans have the highest rates of insrease than any other race in the United States.
Of the 43,156 AIDS cases reported in the country in 2000, almost half (19,890) were among African Americans. African Americans account for more than half of the new HIV infections. African Americans are also affected by other sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis. The new cases of syphilis cases among African Americans represented about 70% in 2000. Syphilis is the one the national goals of trying to eliminate. If syphilis elimination efforts work the it might also have an impact on the HIV rates. Methods:
A mathematical model of HIV transmission was used to estimate the number of partnerships consisting of HIV in African Americans in which the syphilis infection was present and the number of new HIV cases attributable to syphilis in these partnerships. They adapted a simplified model of the effect of syphilis on HIV transmission to the estimated number of new cases. If the syphilis is to assist HIV transmission from 1 sex partner to another, then the partners must initially be of discordant HIV status. At least 1 of the partners must have syphilis.
