Bridging the Gap: Conference Record [Abstract book, International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1998: Geneva, Switzerland)]

914 Abstracts 43340-43344

12th World AIDS Conference

Method of prevention
Abstinence
Faithfulness
Condom use
Avoiding unsterilized
instruments

Gender
Female (n = 74)
Male (n = 92)
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male

Knowledge
12 (16%)
25 (27%)
49 (66%)
58 (63%)
29 (39%)
73 (79%)
40 (54%)
35 (38%)

Practice
20 (27%)
24 (26%)
45 (61%)
34 (37%)
3 (4%)
35 (38%)
22 (30%)
24 (26%)

lead to increased susceptibility to HIV infection. This result is prompting the
programme to put a special emphasis on interventions targeted at refugee
women.
43340 Prevention of STD/HIV/AIDS in sex workers in Bogota,
Colombia
Jennypher Calderon 2, J.S. Stanton2, H.A.A. Ardila2. Liga Colombiana de
Lucha Contra el Sida, Av. 32 N~ 14-16, Santafe de Bogota, Bogota, Colombia
Objective: Develop and implement and STD/HIV/AIDS prevention project for and
with the active participation of sex workers in Bogota, Colombia.
Methods: Apply a KABP survey on sexuality and STD/HIV/AIDS in sex workers
in Bogota Oct.-Dec, 1997. The results of the survey provide basics tools to develop educational materials, to orient the workshops and the follow-up sessions
and to design a manual for the "multipliers" that includes basic information on
STD/HIV/AIDS and basic techniques on group management and communication.
The manual will be distributed among the participants of the workshops to answer
most of the doubts in the target population and to improve the existing information
on the subject. 15 sex workers will be trained in each workshop; each one of
them will multiply the information within their social network. These multipliers will
have two follow-up sessions and permanent support to meet their needs during
the multiplication process and to improve on weaknesses found.
Results: The Survey will show a diagnosis of the knowledge, attitudes, and
behavior of the population in terms of STD/HIV/AIDS and sexuality. The educational activities will be based on the results of the questions on: condom use with
partners, condom use in the last sexual relation, the difference between HIV and
AIDS and the perceived risk of getting and STD or HIV. The workshop, the leaflet
and the manual for multipliers will meet the needs reported by the Survey.
Conclusions: Often times research and prevention are carried out as separate
tasks. To bridge the gap between research and prevention activities, both intervention are carried out with participation of memebers of the target population
during the investigation process in order to obtain results that can be taken as
base of interventions. We hope that the prevention acitivites will better meet the
real needs of the population and that the investigation acomplish a true social
objective.
43341 Prostitution support and information project
Kristine Lasmane. PuSkina 1A, Riga, LV- 1050, Latvia
Issue: Prostitutes are vulnerable to STD and HIV/AIDS and play a great role in
transmission of the diseases, that's why special attention and interventions are
necessary.
Project: Taking to account the seriousness of the problem and potential dangers
to society information and support center for prostitutes was created. Prostitutes
in the center got information on health issues and safe sex education as well
as psychological and legal support. Self-support groups were created. Besides
that work on the streets and hot line for prostitutes was carried out by a group of
volonteers.
Results: Incidence of diseases among prostitutes attending the centre decreased greatly and part of them changed the occupation.
Lessons Learned: When institutionalized help for prostitutes is combined with
street work and hot line considerable improvements in conditions of prostitutes
and field of STD and AIDS can be achieved in quite a short period.
43342 Participative interventions among commercial sex
workers in Joao Pessoa, Brazil
Sergio De Araujo Silva, S.A.P. Altamir Portal De Moura. Amazona-AV Euripedes
Tavares 251 Tambia, 58013-290 Joao Pessoa, PB, Brazil
Issue: Due to their schooling background, their social oringins, and their daily enviromenment most of the comercial sex workers (CSW) of Joao Pessoa-capital of
Paraiba, the poorest state of Brasil-are not efficiently reached and concerned by
the messages transmited throungh the general approaches of AIDS prevention.
Project: A specific and appropriate STD/AIDS prevention program of intervention has been implemented to contribute to increase the correct use of condom
among CSW and their clients.
To reinforce the cognitive and emotionalperception of the messages and to obtain behaviour changes, the strategies of information, social marketing of condoms
and focus groups are supported by in the use of participative art performances,
such as theatre and mime.
Our presentation in Geneva pretends to show a concrete application of this
methodology, presenting a play of mime about the ways of transmission of
HIV/AIDS and the correct use of condom.

Results: The proportion of CSW buying condoms from the peer educators of
the project arose from 24% to 60% after one year of intervention (from 24% to
48% for clients). Teir general knowledge about AIDS and STD increased 15%
and their specific knowledge of the forms of tranmission of AIDS rose up to 23%.
Lessons learned: The impact of AIDS prevention projects among CSW can be
improved by the use of specific art performances which permit to exploit positively
their environment, language and references.
43343 Mobilisation to protect homeless adolescent CSW and
single homeless mothers in Maputo, Mozambique, 1997
Amelia Conceiqao Da Cuhna, B. Dos Santos, L. Magalhaes Luisa. Minstry of
Health, National STD/AIDS Program, CP 264 Maputo, Mozambique
Issue: Commercial sex work has been increasing over the last 10 years in
Mozambique, especially in cities and suburbs, as they grew very rapidly, providing shelter to displaced people during the war. Child prostitution is a new problem,
occurring as a consequence of social disruption and the increasing amounts of
children searching for means to survive in the streets.
Project: Social support structures of the Government and the Ministry of Health,
as well as NGO's are working together to try to create means to protect the street
children. Children and adolescents who voluntarily want to leave the streets are
helped and means are created on the street to enhance survival without violence
and provide sufficient knowledge to children to protect them selves from infectious
diseases as STDs.
Results: The Health services of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, are providing
education and counseling, treatment of STDs and condom distributions to street
children, adolescents and single home less mothers. The same health workers
that created the special services for CSWs in the suburbs of the city in 1993, are
responsible. 10 health workers walked the streets 3 evenings per week between
1993 and 1996, to provide information and education, and gain the confidence
of the people living in the streets. In 1997, these health workers walked one
extra evening per week to reach the children, adolescents and single mothers
working in the streets. 2 adolescents and 2 single home less mothers became
peer educators. Theater, information sessions, and person to person education
is provided. They distribute brochures about STDs and AIDS, provide condoms
and inform them, where they can get help in case of illness.
Lessons Learned: The program in 1993 reaching CSW's and their partners,
and now the successive work with the street children, adolescents and home
less single mothers, has obliged other services as social support services of the
government and NGO's to get involved. STD curative services, health education
and social support services are provided. Children and young girls practicing
CSW are given an opportunity to get out of the street survival strategy and are
educated and given means to improve their sexual health.
443344 Awareness, perceptions and inhibiting issues of positive
living among HIV infected individuals in Uganda
Stephen Kisembe Kiirya, B.N. Were. National Community of Women Living wuth
HIV/AIDS, C/O Uganda AIDS Commision, PO. Box 10779, Kampala, Uganda
Background: Although some persons living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) in Uganda
are being counseled on the dangers of HIV infection and re-infection through
the concept of positive living, a number of them including some of those who
are clients of AIDS home care and support services centers have continued to
engage in risky sexual and reproductive practices including child bearing. As a
result the number of HIV infected children born of HIV infected parents is increasing in Uganda. This study therefore sought to: determine whether the current
intervention models have caused a change in PHAs awareness, perceptions and
practice related to positive living; establish why a number of PHAs including some
of those counseled continue to engage in risky sexual and reproductive practices;
and propose an intervention model for enhancing positive living among PHAs and
the community as whole.
Methods: A sample size of 350 PHAs (clients and non-clients of AIDS care
and support organizations) and non-infected individuals of both sexes was selected and reached through the community-based AIDS care/support/and or PHA
branches in seven districts of Uganda. Each of them responded to a self-report
that sought to measure their awareness, perceptions, practice and inhibitors of a
range of positive living issues. Alongside this, 2 service providers and 6 opinion
leaders in each district involved in the study were interviewed on the positive
living status of PHAs. In addition, 2 focus group discussions were conducted with
one involving 6 PHAs of both sexes and another comprising of 6 non-infected
individuals of both sexes. Discussions focused mainly on factors that inhibit the
adoption of safer sexual and reproductive practices, and other issues related to
positive living.
Results: PHAs who had access to AIDS information, care and psychosocial
support services tended to exhibit relatively high awareness and low risk perceptions on a range of sexual, reproductive, nutritional, care and coping scenarios
compared to those (infected and non-infected) who had no access to these
services. However, both sample categories tended to exhibit high risk practices

and encounter similar inhibitors to a range of positive living practices. This was
attributed inter arlia to the individual and society expectations of male-female partnerships such as the desire for sex as a means of procreation, society ostracism
and fear of divorce particularly for married couples, psychological antecedents
such as fear of isolation and stigmatization, lack of female controlled protective
devices, non-awareness of individuals sero-status, myths and misconceptions
that condoms may have holes/and or promote infertility, limited economic capac