title: Female sexual partners of male people who inject drugs in vietnam have poor knowledge of their male partners' HIV status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vietnam's HIV epidemic is concentrated among male people who inject drugs (PWID), and their female sexual partners (SPs) may be at risk for infection. HIV prevention interventions for SPs were implemented in Hanoi, Dien Bien Province, and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and data from linked surveys used to evaluate these interventions offered an unusual opportunity to assess knowledge of HIV status within couples.
  
  
  METHODS
  Linked surveys (behavioral interviews and HIV testing) among 200 PWID-SP couples in Hanoi, 300 in Dien Bien, and 249 in HCMC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HIV prevalence among male PWID was 53% in Hanoi, 30% in Dien Bien, and 46% in HCMC, and lower among their SPs: 44%, 10%, and 37%, respectively. Comparison of SPs' beliefs regarding male PWID partners' HIV status with the PWIDs' actual test results revealed that 32% of SPs in Dien Bien and 44% in Hanoi and HCMC lacked correct knowledge of their male partners' status. This proportion was slightly lower (21%-33%) among SPs whose PWID partners reported having been previously tested and received HIV+ results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SP interventions reached HIV-negative women in serodiscordant relationships, and some improvements occurred in condom use and relationship characteristics. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that at least 11,000 SPs in Vietnam may be at high risk for HIV infection because of incorrect knowledge of their partners' HIV status. Interventions should be strengthened in HIV testing, disclosure, and treatment, as well as empowerment of SPs as individuals, within couples, and as communities.
authors.affiliation: *US Health Division, Abt Associates, Cambridge, MA; †Abt Associates, Bethesda, MD; ‡International Health Division, Abt Associates, Hanoi, Vietnam; and §Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Theodore M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hammett
authors.forename: Son
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.forename: Phong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Binh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kieu
authors.forename: Son
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.forename: Diu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kling
authors.forename: Khuat Thi
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Hai Oanh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult