Searching videos
Please Sign In or Create an account
HIV knowledge and sexual behaviour among people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in NSW Australia: results from a NSW community – based survey 2012

HIV knowledge and sexual behaviour among people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in NSW Australia: results from a NSW community – based survey 2012

Over the last decade, Australia has experienced a rise in new HIV diagnoses due to heterosexual transmission in people from CALD backgrounds. Yet there are no systems for assessing HIV knowledge and sexual risk behaviour in this population. We report the findings of a HIV community-based survey among people from CALD communities in NSW in 2012.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at 12 community events in partnership with community organisations. We focused on events occurring at least annually (repeatable) and targeting Zimbabwe, Thailand, Ethiopia, South Africa, Cambodia and Sudan communities. These countries were selected as they contribute to high numbers of HIV notifications relative to their population size in NSW. We aimed to include 300 people aged 16 years and older from each community and similar numbers of males and females. Paper-based surveys were translated into 4 different community languages and were self-completed.

Results: A total of 1419 people participated; 46% were males, the median age was 30 years, and 18% spoke English as their first language. About three-quarters of participants correctly indicated HIV could be transmitted through sexual intercourse (76%), injecting (70%), and blood transfusion (67%), and less than half through birth (37%) or breast feeding (49%). There were some misconceptions about the modes of transmission, with 14% reporting HIV could be transmitted by sharing food and 15% by kissing. 39% of participants reported a non-steady sexual partner, of which only 27% reported condom use in the last 12 months. The main reasons for not using condoms with non-steady partners were: ‘difficult to bring up topic’ (39%), ‘condoms are unnatural’ (26%), ‘condoms make sex less enjoyable’ (24%), and ‘condoms were not available’ (22%). Differences in knowledge and sexual behaviour were observed across communities, and according to gender and age group.

Conclusions: The survey provides important information to inform health promotion initiatives and a baseline to evaluate the impact of such strategies.

Areas of Interest / Categories: AIDS 2015

AIDS 2015

HIV and Hodgkin's lymphoma - a medical dilemma

The case is of a 30 year-old HIV positive Zimbabwean woman (UK resident) who arrived in Australia in January 2011 on a one-year working visa. She was diagnosed with HIV in 2003 in the UK and commenced on Atripla® in 2005. She was first seen in Adelaide in May 2011, requesting a script for Atripla.®.

High Resolution Anoscopy - Practice makes perfect

Background: Liquid based anal Papanicolaou smears, followed by High Resolution Anoscopy (HRA) guided biopsies are increasingly being advocated to identify areas of High Grade Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia (HGAIN). We hypothesized that the ability to identify HGAIN would increase with experience of the anoscopist, and that comparison with contemporary Papanicolaou smears might yield insights into technical abilities.

An Indigenous cultural appropriateness audit piloted in a sexual health clinic in NSW: making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples a priority.

Indigenous Australians experience a greater burden of sexually transmitted infections, however are less likely than the general population to access sexual health services. We examined the effectiveness of an Indigenous cultural appropriateness audit in assessing a sexual health clinic with low rates of Indigenous clients.

Chlamydia and the Urban Aboriginal Medical Service

Despite the high proportion of young people annually accessing general practices, including Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS), testing for Chlamydia trachomatis remains relatively low in urban areas. A project officer was employed within the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) to serve a mentoring and facilitation role for the SE Queensland network of AMS and their sexual health workers, with a view to improving testing, management and follow-up of chlamydia and other STIs by community controlled medical services.

An optimised eight-colour flow cytometry protocol for the analysis of monocyte heterogeneity and monocyte activation markers during HIV infection.

Monocytes are a heterogeneous cell population having specialised functions and differing phenotype. They are a link between innate immune system and adaptive immune system therefore, to identify if immune activation exists in HIV-1 individuals with controlled virema and recovered CD4 T cell counts, we assessed cell surface monocyte activation markers (MAM) within the monocyte subsets.

The Ask Share Know Project: a research translation study of three consumer questions to enhance treatment decision making

Involving consumers in healthcare decisions is important for high quality care. We previously tested a brief, consumer-led intervention consisting of three questions in a trial employing trained, standardized patients. The intervention enhanced discussion of evidence and increased patient involvement. We now report a research translation study which tested implementation with real patients at a reproductive and sexual health clinic.

Combination prevention with confidence?: A review of where community HIV health promotion evaluation is most, moderately and least developed

Recently Added

Limits in Neurofeedback Rehabilitation: What we need to know

Neuro-correlates of the ‘Self’ and Implications for Neuro-psychotherapists

A Z In Neuromodulation Case Studies from Assessment to Intervention

The therapeutic conversation as musical composition

Trauma, psychosis and dissociation – understanding the experiences of survivors of severe trauma presenting for care

Psychosis after trauma – loss of contact with reality or destruction of reality once known?

The Military Mind