Sexual behaviours and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV

Individuals accurate assessment of their risk seems to be a key factor in the adoption of a behaviour. However, the relationship between individual’s risk perception and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination is unclear. Understanding this relationship will aid in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. To this end, the paper attempts to examine how people’s risk perception affects their attitudes towards stigma and discrimination. The study will use data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys. Logistic regression will be used to predict the relationship between HIV/AIDS risk perception and attitudes towards stigma and discrimination. Given the implementation of various HIV prevention programmes in Ghana, one would expect individuals with higher risk perception to have a more positive attitude towards people living with HIV.

Using data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health survey, this paper attempts to understand the determinants of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination among adolescents in Ghana. Logistic regression is used to examine the determinants of adolescents’ attitudes towards HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. Two logistic regression estimates are used to predict the relationship between the explanatory variables – age, sex, level of education, wealth index, residence, region and risky sexual behaviour and the outcome variables - HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination and among adolescents in Ghana. There results of the study reveal that there is a direct and significant relationship between age and adolescents’ willingness to care for persons living with AIDS. Also, there was a significant and direct relationship between condom use at first sex and willingness to care. However, the relationship between female adolescents’ and their attitude towards a female teacher with AIDS to continue teaching; though direct was not significant. Also, there was a direct and significant relationship between sexual activity and acceptance that teachers with AIDS could continue teaching. To reduce stigma and discrimination among adolescents in Ghana, efforts should be made to intensify the educational campaigns through the mass media and other educational

Background
This paper presents the first mixed methods study of the HIV risk environments of MSW in China. Chinese MSW are highly stigmatised, occupying marginal social positions, undertaking illegal/hidden behaviours. They are at an increased risk of HIV infection due to multiple risk exposures.
Methods
The mixed methods research was conducted in Guangdong, China in 2011. Following ethnographic mapping, MSW (n=251) were surveyed using a structured questionnaire and a sub-sample (n=21) were interviewed in-depth.
Results
Levels of HIV knowledge varied according to a number of socio-economic variables. Reasons for entering sex work, and subsequent risk taking behaviours including drug use appeared to largely centre around economic needs or desires. The survey reveals that levels of condom use varied considerably by partner type and gender. Qualitative analyses suggest that issues of intimacy and stigma played an important role in this behavioural decision making process. These men also show very high levels of mobility, making them hard to reach.
Discussion
As a mixed methods study of MSW in China, we present a more nuanced exploration of the drivers of HIV in this marginalised group than previous work has been able to. We present evidence that may be useful in identifying potential avenues for more targeted interventions.

The spread of STIs/HIV and the infection cases are significantly increasing in China. Migrant males are big concern in this topic. Since the existence of elder male bachelors with migrant experience due to sex imbalance in China, the situation of STIs/HIV transmission becomes more complicated. This research focuses on risks of STIs/HIV transmission among migrant males in the context of sex imbalance in China. The data comes from the survey of sexuality and reproductive health conducted in a western central city, where represents most social characteristic of sex imbalance. The theory of risky perception is used as the theoretical framework. With the analysis strategy of description and regression by comparison between elder male bachelors and other migrant, this research targets to reveal the correlation between risky perception of STIs/HIV infection and risky sexual behaviors. The self-protective motivation relates to STIs/HIV transmission are also discussed to analyze the migrant males’ risks. With the emergence of elder male bachelors, the results are helpful to make policy applications to improve the prevention and education of STIs/HIV transmission in the situation of sex imbalance in China.

Background: The risky sexual behaviours and other behaviours such as drug use among street youth are of major public health and social health concern, but there is paucity of current information on these behaviors and the sexual health needs of these young people.
Method: The study was a descriptive cross sectional study carried out among male and female youth in selected Motor parks and Markets in Ibadan. The data was collected using a qualitative method of data collection.
Results: The Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) conducted among 160 discussants revealed that the respondents perceived that they were at risk of contracting STI including HIV because of their sexual activities. Condom use was recognized as a mode of preventing STI but many were unwilling to use them because of perceived reduction in sexual satisfaction. The discussants were aware of gonorrhea and HIV as common STI and the major treatment modes for STI were traditional remedies and drugs obtained from patent medicine shops. Traditional remedies were preferred by most and considered to be more effective.
Conclusion: Majority of these young people on the streets were sexually active and many engage in high risk sexual behaviours. Appropriate sexual health interventions are recommended.

Students from the states of Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram come to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, every year to pursue their further studies as they find it convenient to come and more over the head quarter of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is located in Shillong. Moreover, the two states i.e., Nagaland and Manipur have been ravaged by decades of insurgency and secessionist activities. The resultant effect has had huge impact of growth of quality education institutes, especially those imparting college and higher education to the multitudes to students who pass from schools every year. Also with the pressure from church and socio-religious organization, these three states Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram have been declared as “dry states” where the sale of alcohol is prohibited by law but in these societies where drinking or consumption of alcohol is a part of their tradition, folklore and culture but conversely their states are dry states where selling of alcohol is banned. So this “contradiction” has its bearing on them the moment they come to Shillong which is a “wet state” where alcohol of any make and price is available in every nook and corner Therefore, it has been hypothesized that these migrants students would consume more alcohol as it is plentily available and engages in risky behaviors which could be a threat.

The debate about the role of concurrent sexual partnerships in the spread of HIV is influenced by weak/limited empirical data on concurrency.

Longitudinal data (n = 2958) were employed to examine the prevalence of individual concurrency (someone who has additional partners) and perceived partner concurrency (partner perceived to have additional partners) by population group and gender in 2005 and 2009. Fixed effects logit regression models were created to examine factors associated with changes in individual concurrency.

The prevalence of individual concurrency increased among black men (from 33% in 2005 to 39% in 2009), remained constant among black women (14%), decreased among coloured men (from 16% to 8%) and remained low among coloured women (2% in 2005 and 1% in 2009). Overall, a small decrease in perceived partner concurrency was observed. Changes in individual concurrency were positively associated with changes in perceived partner concurrency and finding employment; and negatively associated with household income.

Race and gender differences in concurrency should be taken into account in future research and HIV-prevention initiatives. High and increasing levels of concurrency within most recent partnerships among black men highlight this group as a potential focus for such efforts.

Sexual risk behaviour among Nigerian adolescents is a major health concern. Efforts have been made to reduce teenage pregnancy and discourage child marriage in Nigeria yet, just 26% girls in northern Nigeria make it beyond primary school due to sexual vulnerability and over 600,000 Nigerians seek abortion each year while the HIV infection rates among young people aged 15-19 was put at 3.3% by UNFPA. This put 31.7% of the nation’s populace at HIV and STIs risk. Random sampling method was adopted in the investigation of 400 college students and rural adolescent girls sexual activities in Nigeria. Questionnaire and structured interviews were used to determine the level of success public enlightenment has achieved in curbing further spread of HIV and STDs. Findings reveal that rural adolescent girls are most vulnerable and there is positive correlation between education, exposure to media and sexual activity. Recommendations are also made based on the findings to strengthen media impacts in bringing about behavioural change on the subject matter with the consciousness of the discovery of this work that the media is one of the factors that put youths at risk of illicit sexual behavior and its despicable aftermaths and levers that can be used in preventive interventions.

This paper contributes methodologically and substantively to the debate over the importance of poverty, sexual behaviour, and circumcision in HIV infection using panel data on young black men and women in Cape Town, South Africa. Methodological challenges include problems of endogeneity and blunt indicator variables, especially for the measurement of sexual behaviour. Noting these difficulties, we found that the importance of socio-economic and sexual-behavourial factors differed between men and women. While a clear association was found between the number of years of sexual activity and HIV status among both men and women, we found that past participation in a concurrent sexual partnership increased the odds of HIV infection for men but not for women. Women, but not men, who made the transition from school to tertiary education (our key indicator of socio-economic status) were less likely to be HIV positive than those who made the transition from school to unemployment. Both poverty and sexual behaviour matter, but in gendered ways.

Sexual behaviour and HIV prevalence trends reported in overall study populations may mask different sexual behaviour and HIV prevalence changes in specific sub-groups. One group of particular interest are adult migrants from rural households. In this paper, we compare and contrast trends in sexual behaviour and HIV prevalence by residential status in a rural South African community 2005-2011. We use repeated cross-sectional sexual behaviour and HIV data available in the Africa Centre Demographic Information System (ACDIS). Multiple imputation methods and inverse probability weighting are used to adjust for missing data and selection bias respectively. Generally, trends in sexual behaviour indicators are in the same direction for residents and non-residents although sexual risk behaviours remain higher in non-residents compared to residents after adjusting for age. Marked differences are observed in risk behaviours by gender. Non-resident women are more likely than resident women to report condom use at last sex with their regular partner; the opposite is observed in men. There is no significant difference in HIV prevalence by residency status for men or women. In this paper we also discuss the extent to which current residential status may mask complex histories of migration.