title: Assessment of HIV-related risky behaviour: a comparative study of face-to-face interviews and polling booth surveys in the general population of Cotonou, Benin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  During the 2008 HIV prevalence survey carried out in the general population of Cotonou, Benin, face-to-face interviews (FTFI) were used to assess risky behaviours for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). We compared sexual behaviours reported in FTFI with those reported in polling booth surveys (PBS) carried out in parallel in an independent random sample of the same population.
  
  
  METHODS
  In PBS, respondents grouped by gender and marital status answered simple questions by putting tokens with question numbers in a green box (affirmative answers) or a red box (negative answers). Both boxes were placed inside a private booth. For each group and question, data were gathered together by type of answer. The structured and gender-specific FTFI guided by trained interviewers included all questions asked during PBS. Pearson χ2 or Fisher's exact test was used to compare FTFI and PBS according to affirmative answers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, respondents reported more stigmatised behaviours in PBS than in FTFI: the proportions of married women and men who reported ever having had commercial sex were 17.4% and 41.6% in PBS versus 1.8% and 19.6% in FTFI, respectively. The corresponding proportions among unmarried women and men were 16.1% and 25.5% in PBS versus 3.9% and 13.0% in FTFI, respectively. The proportion of married women who reported having had extramarital sex since marriage was 23.6% in PBS versus 4.6% in FTFI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PBS are suitable to monitor reliable HIV/STI risk behaviours. Their use should be expanded in behavioural surveillance.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche FRQS du CHU de Québec, URESP, , Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Béhanzin
authors.forename: Souleymane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Diabaté
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Minani
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lowndes
authors.forename: Marie-Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Boily
authors.forename: Annie-Claude
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Labbé
authors.forename: Séverin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anagonou
authors.forename: Djimon Marcel
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Zannou
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buvé
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alary
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001541:Benin / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012309:Risk-Taking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AFRICA; EPIDEMIOLOGY (GENERAL); HIV; PREVENTION; SURVEILLANCE