AEGiS-14IAC: Sexual behaviors and condom use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV) in Chile.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Sexual behaviors and condom use among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV) in Chile.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. ThOrD1451)

Sgombich X, Souteyrand Y, Damianovic N, Arredondo A, Dore V, Henriquez A; NOUS Investigacion &Asesoria, Santiago de Chile, Chile

BACKGROUND: Since 1997 Chile has been scaling up access to antiretroviral multitherapies (ARV). Impact of enlarging access to treatment on preventive behaviors is a major issue. We compare sexual and preventive behaviors of people treated (PWT) and untreated (PNT) with ARV.

METHODS: A random sample of 800 PLWHIV (161 women, 639 men including 435 MSMs), followed up by the Chilean Public Health System have been interviewed face to face between 12/00 and 02/01. Data on sexual behaviors, partnership, condom use and disclosure of serological status to sexual partners have been collected.

RESULTS: In the last 12 months before the interview, 553 persons (69%) were sexually active. PWTs (n=548) are less often sexually active than PNTs (n=247) (65.5% vs 76.9%, p=0.002) and they have had less frequently more than one partner (16.2 vs 22.2% p=3.3, NS). The frequency of sexual relationships is lower for PWTs than for PNTs (more than once a week: 43 % vs 53%, p=0.03). The consistent condom use is higher among PWTs than among PNTs, significantly for the multipartners (use of condom in each sexual intercourse: 92 vs 69%, p=0.01). Disclosure of serostatus to the regular partner is not significantly different between PWTs and PNTs (84 vs 80%, p=0.2). The proportion of PWTs who report a reduction of the frequency of sexual relationships since the initiation of treatment is higher than those reporting an increase: 50.4 vs 7.8% for monopartners ; 43.8 vs 5.62% for multipartners.

CONCLUSION: In Chile, PWTs are more often sexually abstinent in the last 12 months than PNTs. They report less sexual relationships and use condoms more consistently. Further analysis is necessary to identify clinical (impact of disease severity and treatment on sexuality) and behavioral determinants (awareness of the risks of infection). However it appears clearly that the enlargement of access to ARV does not by itself increase at-risk behaviors among PLWHIV.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Sex Behavior, HIV Infections, Safe Sex, Condoms, Risk-Taking, Sexual Partners, HIV Seropositivity, Chile, Human, Female, Male

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