HIV medical care provider practices for reducing high-risk sexual behavior: results of a qualitative study.
A first step in ensuring that HIV-infected persons practice the safer sexual behaviors that reduce disease transmission is to make certain that they receive accurate information about the relationship between sexual risk behaviors and HIV transmission. Health care providers can play a pivotal role in preventing secondary transmission of HIV; federal agencies and professional guidelines encourage providers to counsel HIV-infected patients about safer sex practices and transmission risks, particularly since the health care encounter may be the only time that HIV-infected persons receive information about prevention and risk reduction interventions. Yet research indicates that these opportunities are often missed. Prior to implementing a prevention demonstration project in an urban HIV and STD clinic, we conducted a qualitative investigation with providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurses. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the current status of prevention education and counseling efforts at the clinic, examine the barriers and facilitators to providing prevention counseling, and identify key areas where providers believed that they needed additional training.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. drainoni@bu.edu
Mari-Lynn
ML
Drainoni
Debra
D
Dekker
Elizabeth
E
Lee-Hood
Ulrike
U
Boehmer
Michael
M
Relf
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003153:Community Health Services; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D009726:Nurses; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010823:Physician Assistants; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012309:Risk-Taking; D021841:Safe Sex; D012725:Sexual Behavior