title: 'Women at risk': the health and social vulnerabilities of the regular female partners of men who inject drugs in Delhi, India.
abstract: Needle and syringe sharing is common among people who inject drugs and so is unprotected sex, which consequently puts their sex partners at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV and other blood-borne infections, like hepatitis. We undertook a nested study with the regular female partners of men who inject drugs participating in a longitudinal HIV incidence study in Delhi, India. In-depth interviews were conducted with female partners of 32 men. The interviews aimed to gather focused and contextual knowledge of determinants of safe sex and reproductive health needs of these women. Information obtained through interviews was triangulated and linked to the baseline behavioural data of their partner (index men who injected drugs). The study findings illustrate that women in monogamous relationships have a low perception of STI- and HIV-related risk. Additionally, lack of awareness about hepatitis B and C is a cause of concern. Findings also suggest impact of male drug use on the fertility of the female partner. It is critical to empower regular female partners to build their self-risk assessment skills and self-efficacy to negotiate condom use. Future work must explore the role of drug abuse among men who inject drugs in predicting fertility and reproductive morbidity among their female partners.
authors.affiliation: a Population Council , New Delhi , India.
authors.forename: Vartika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Avina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarna
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Luchters
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sebastian
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Degomme
authors.forename: Lopamudra Ray
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Saraswati
authors.forename: Ira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Madan
authors.forename: Ibou
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thior
authors.forename: Waimar
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016485:Needle Sharing; D036301:Qualitative Research; D060728:Reproductive Health; D012306:Risk; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D014930:Women; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: India; men who inject drugs; regular partners; reproductive health; risk behaviour