title: Factors associated with condom use in women from an urban area in southern Brazil.
abstract: This study investigated the prevalence of factors associated with condom use during last sexual intercourse in 15-49-year-old women in a probabilistic sample from the urban area of Pelotas, southern Brazil. A questionnaire administered by an interviewer, investigating socioeconomic characteristics and habits, and another (self-administered) questionnaire on sexual behavior-related variables were used. Poisson regression, following a hierarchical model, was used for data analysis. 1,543 women were included, and losses and refusals amounted to 3.5%. Prevalence of condom use in last sexual intercourse was 28.0%. Condom use was positively associated with younger age, greater schooling, non-white color, single marital status, and greater number of sex partners in the previous three months. This suggests that the group most vulnerable to STDs/AIDS due to lack of condom use is white, adult women, in stable unions, with fewer sexual partners.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil. famed@ufpel.tche.br
authors.forename: Mariângela Freitas
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: da Silveira
authors.forename: Iná Silva
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Jorge Umberto
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Béria
authors.forename: Bernardo Lessa
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Horta
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tomasi
authors.forename: Cesar Gomes
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Victora
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D021841:Safe Sex; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health