Risk perception and counselling among HIV-positive women in São Paulo, Brazil.
This study of HIV-positive women at a clinic for HIV/AIDS in São Paulo examined their risk perception for HIV before they had learned of their diagnosis and their experiences with pre- and post-test counselling. A sample of 148 women was interviewed regarding demographics, HIV risk factors and risk perception, pre- and post-test counselling, and sexual and reproductive conduct. The majority (77%) had been infected by their partners--37% by an injecting drug user partner. More than half (53%) did not perceive themselves at risk before learning of their HIV status and, of 68 who had perceived themselves at risk, 29% did so only after their partners became ill. The majority (64%) did not receive any kind of pre-test counselling. Post-test counselling was reported by 83% but 14% reported being mishandled by a physician in the process. Findings suggest the importance of prevention efforts to reduce women's barriers to learning about HIV status and the necessity of improving the quality of pre- and post-test counselling.
Ventura-Filipe
E M
EM
Programa Estadual de DST/AIDS de São Paulo (São Paulo State STD/AIDS Programme), Brazil. efilipe@cebinet.com.br
Bugamelli
L E
LE
Leme
B
B
Santos
N J
NJ
Garcia
S
S
Paiva
V
V
Hearst
N
N
D001938:Brazil; D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception; D012306:Risk