AEGiS-15IAC: Impact of information given on condom use among the sexually active clients and their ability to share sero-status with their partners after a year of counseling.

15th International AIDS Conference

Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Impact of information given on condom use among the sexually active clients and their ability to share sero-status with their partners after a year of counseling.

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. TuOrD1213)

Lyavala JL, Nabiryo C
The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), Kampala, Uganda

ISSUE: At TASO during counseling session, PLWHAs are encouraged to practice safer sex with their partners in order to prevent infections and re-infections of HIV/AIDS & STDs. They are encouraged to share their HIV/AIDS sero status with partners to avoid spread. Data from counseling sessions for clients that joined TASO in 2000 & 2001 was used to assess the impact of information given on condom use among the sexually active clients and their ability to share sero status with their partners after a year in TASO.

RESULTS: A total of 15413 clients registered in the 2 years & of these, 3617 (24%) clients were self reported sexually active (i.e. had sex in the last 3 months) in 9930 counseling sessionsThe number of sessions in which clients reported having sex with spouses was 6575 (70%) out of 9330 sessions of self reporting to be sexually active and in 1553 (17%) sessions clients reported having had sex with other sexual partnersIn 3582 (38%) sessions, clients reported use of condoms always, & in 4504 (48%) sessions, they reported never or occasional use condomsIn 3630 (39%) sessions, clients reported to have had sex with new partners when they didn't know the partners sero status with 43% using condoms & in 1775 (19%) sessions clients reported having had sex with the partners while they didn't know the clients status with a reported condom use rate of 23% among this group

LESSONS LEARNT: Use of condoms is a low practice even after a person going through counseling of at least a yearBehavior change is a process that may not only take a short time like a period of one yearRevealing of sero status is not common practice with first encounters Recommendation: PLWHAs need constant information on prevention and condom use calling for need to giving more information on sharing of sero statusTASO to emphasize prevention of HIV spread among clientsCounseling department to develop strategies to strengthen behavioral changeEncourage positive sexual behaviors display ed and staff e.g. low causal sex reports

Keywords: AEGIS, Sexual Behavior, Safe Sex, Condoms, Counseling, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Infections, Coitus, HIV Seroprevalence, HIV Seropositivity, Contraception, Humans, prevention & control, organization & administration, therapy

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TuOrD1213