Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this article was to investigate the prevalence of HIV and intent to use condoms among women who injected heroin. Methods: A total of 301 incarcerated women with a history of heroin injection during the last six months before incarceration participated. All were at least 18 years of age and literate. They completed a survey that consisted of background information, HIV status, knowledge of the routes of HIV transmission, sexual behaviors, and the stage of intention to use condoms. Results: The prevalence of HIV was 34% and all but one participant knew that unprotected sex and sharing injecting equipment can transmit HIV. Results showed that 19.73% used condoms during the last intercourse and 52.67% of respondents' partners were injection drug users (IDUs). Most participants (54.4%) were currently in the action stage of condom use, while 11.3% were in the preparation stage, 19% were in the contemplation stage, and 15.3% were in the pre-contemplation stage. Results from chi-square tests indicated that HIV serostatus, age, an IDU partner, and condom use during the last sexual encounter were significantly different across the stages of condom use. Conclusions: The findings indicate that knowing positive status can help increase the motivation and intention to use condoms.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 238-246 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Taiwan Journal of Public Health |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - 2010 Jun |
Keywords
- Condom use
- HIV
- Heroin injection user
- The transtheoretical model
- Women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health