title: [Practices and perception of risk in human immunodeficiency virus infected males who have sex with other males].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases increases in males who have sex with males (MSM), despite the knowledge on how to prevent them. To determine the mechanisms that are driving this lack of prevention is important to reverse the trend.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous, voluntary and self-reporting questionnaire was completed by HIV+ MSM patients who were seen in a hospital clinic, with the aim of finding out the sexual risk practices and behaviour, as well as their perceptions and assessment as regards this risk. The questionnaire included 58questions, divided into 10sections, to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour as regards HIV. The questionnaires were also given to the physicians, with the aim of exploring their perceptions, attitudes and opinions as regards the situation of the epidemic, prevention, perception of the diseases and the patient, and values in clinical practice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 495 questionnaires from the patients were analysed. Most of them (87%) said they knew how HIV was acquired, and 97% knew how to prevent it, but 69% knew they were in a risk situation, and 43% had little concern of contracting HIV. Almost two-thirds (65%) had sex with ≥2persons on the same day, 47% met on the Internet and 26% had group sex. The same percentage of those surveyed considered that they acted impulsively. They highlighted a lack of information (33%), bad luck (32%), assumed excessive risk (36%), and lake of concern (25%), as the main reasons for acquiring the infection. When confronted with diagnosis 41% of patients answered «I never thought that it would happen to me», and 32% said «I had bad luck». Of the 121 physicians who completed the questionnaire, 24% considered that infection due to HIV/AIDS was out of control in Spain, and 65% responded that there was an image that HIV/AIDS was a controlled disease and of little concern. A large majority (71%) of those surveyed, considered that the increase in new infections showed that there was no suitable preventive plan.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The management of the risk of acquiring HIV maintains a low level of concern, due to the optimism produced by the advances in the fight against the disease and the current toning down of the discussion. The trivialisation of the risk, on distorting the idea of risky behaviour, is a determining factor of attitudes that makes it impossible to adopt effective preventive behaviour and to take sensible and anticipated decisions.
authors.affiliation: División de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Medicina, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Sol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández de Mosteyrín
authors.affiliation: División de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Medicina, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: del Val Acebrón
authors.affiliation: División de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Medicina, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fernández de Mosteyrín
authors.affiliation: División de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Medicina, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España. Electronic address: mlfernandez@fjd.es.
authors.forename: Manuel L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fernández Guerrero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Enfermedades transmisión sexual; Hombres que tienen sexo con hombres; Human immunodeficiency virus; Males who have sex with males; Sexually transmitted diseases; Virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana