The association between sexual relationship power and partner condom use among HIV-positive Haitian women

Open Access
- Author:
- Novack, Elizabeth Victoria
- Area of Honors:
- Nursing
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Gary King, Thesis Supervisor
Harleah Graham Buck, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- HIV
relationship power
condom use
Haiti
women - Abstract:
- Background: Haiti, a Caribbean nation, has one of the fastest growing HIV rates in the world with 120,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in 2011. A majority of the population living with HIV in Haiti are women, 15 years of age and older, with an increase in prevalence in those acquiring HIV from heterosexual intercourse. However, little has been studied on the social factors, specifically the power dynamics in a sexual relationship that can affect condom use as a way to reduce risk of HIV transmission among HIV-positive Haitian women and their partners. Purpose: To examine the association between sexual relationship power and partner condom use among HIV-positive Haitian women. Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected from a randomized trial of a Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management intervention aimed at improving safer sex practices, adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, as well as reducing alcohol and other drugs in the Haitian Study Group for Kaposi’s sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections Center (GHESKIO) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti conducted through Florida International University. [NIAAA, (5R01AA018084-04; Malow, PI)]. Descriptive statistics, cross tabulation, and bivariate regression were run using Statistical Product Service Solution (SPSS) 21.0. Results: A final sample of 152 HIV-positive Haitian women (ages ranging from 18-35) was used. Relationship variables such as most of the time, we do what my partner wants me to do, and my partner gets more out of the relationship than I do were not found to predict consistent partner condom use. However, marital status, a sociodemographic factor, and lack of knowledge of partner’s HIV-status played an important role in determining consistent partner condom use. Those who were married and did not know their partner’s HIV-status, therefore at high risk of exposure, were found to have partners who were less likely to use condoms consistently than those who were single and did not know their partner’s HIV-status. These findings emphasized the importance of sexual education for those who could be in potentially high-risk relationships for contracting HIV. Conclusions: Future studies are needed on the effect of marital status on condom use among vulnerable populations such as HIV-positive Haitian women. A prospective study