15th International AIDS Conference Bangkok, Thailand — July 11-July 16, 2004

Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16;15:Abstract No. LbOrD26

H Zhou
Independent Researcher, Kunming, China

BACKGROUND: Considering the increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases in China and the growing HIV/AIDS problem among injecting drug users (IDUs) who are females, an exploratory study aimed at identifying the life experiences and the perceptions of HIV/AIDS among female IDUs were conducted.

METHODS: Qualitative study has been employed to conduct this research. The research objectives were reached through exploring the lives of 30 female IDUs in Kunming. The data of this study were drawn from in-depth interviews and participatory observation.

RESULTS: The findings revealed that female IDUs were living a desperate life with heroin abuse. Struggling with seeking money and heroin, all respondents hated being addicted to heroin and had attempted suicide as a solution. Being out of the main society, they regarded their partners as their real friends and their clients as their only 'straight' friends, who they often had high risk behaviors with. To female IDUs, the high risk behaviors were not only the behaviors of, but the access to heroin, money, trust and friendship. Therefore, this situation created their understanding of HIV/AIDS. All the respondents have known the modes of HIV transmission and have perceived the severity of and the susceptibility to HIV infection. However, low condom use and high needle sharing were common among female IDUs. When female IDUs craved heroin, HIV/AIDS meant nothing, at that time even death was not a concern. AIDS meant a life threatening disease to female IDUs only after their satisfaction from a heroin injection and securing enough money for another injection, or when they were free from heroin abuse.

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that female IDUs have specific understanding of HIV/AIDS.The life experiences of female IDUs have given a big impact to constitute the perceptions of HIV/AIDS among female IDUs. Hence the HIV/AIDS prevention stratigies among female IDUs should be developed with consideration of the life expereinces of female IDUs and their perceptions of HIV/AIDS.

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LbOrD26

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