Let's Talk About Sex: The Impact of Partnership Contexts on Communication About HIV Serostatus and Condom Use Among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and Transgender Women (TW) in Lima, Peru.

Sexual communication with partners informs risk assessment and sexual practices. We evaluated participant, partner, and network factors associated with communication about condom use and HIV serostatus and explored their relationships with condomless anal intercourse (CAI) among 446 men who have sex with men (MSM) and 122 transgender women (TW) in Lima, Peru. Generalized estimating equations assessed contextual influences on communication and practices with recent sexual partners. More frequent HIV communication was reported by MSM who: identified as heterosexual, compared to bisexual or gay; characterized partnerships as stable, compared to casual, anonymous, or commercial; or discussed HIV/STIs with close social contacts (p < 0.05). TW in concurrent partnerships discussed condom use more frequently than those in monogamous relationships (p < 0.05). Condom use discussions and alcohol use among MSM were associated with CAI (p < 0.05). Findings highlight complexity in sexual decision-making and call for further study of conversation content and practices to inform HIV prevention messaging.

RESUMEN: La comunicación sexual entre parejas informa sobre la valoración de riesgos y las prácticas sexuales. Evaluamos los factores de participantes, sus parejas y sus redes en relación con la comunicación sobre el uso de condones y el serostatus del VIH, y exploramos sus asociaciones con el sexo anal sin condón (CAI) entre 446 hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH) y 122 mujeres transgéneros (MT) en Lima, Perú. Usamos ecuaciones de estimación generalizadas para evaluar las influencias contextuales en la comunicación y las prácticas con parejas sexuales recientes. La comunicación sobre el VIH fue más frecuente entre los HSH: que se identificaron como heterosexuales, en comparación con bisexuales o gay; quienes reportaron sus relaciones de pareja como estables, en comparación a casuales, anónimas o comerciales; o quienes discutieron el VIH/ITS con contactos sociales cercanos (p < 0.05). Las MT con relaciones concurrentes discutieron el uso de condones con más frecuencia que las que reportaron relaciones monógamas (p < 0.05). Las discusiones sobre el uso de condones y el consumo de alcohol se asociaron con CAI entre los HSH (p < 0.05). Estos resultados resaltan la complejidad de las decisiones sexuales y ameritan un mayor estudio del contenido y las prácticas de conversación para informar los mensajes de prevención del VIH.

[Development of a service on line advice and information technology management for health]. / Desarrollo de un servicio en línea para la gestión tecnológica en salud.

OBJECTIVE: To validate an advisory service and online information technology management for health and helps to make assessment and acquisition processes an informed medical equipment according to the market and the needs of the health institutions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Internet via a technological solution supported ona data base containing systematic and updated information on technical specifications of 25 compared medical equipment, the same reference prices, list of suppliers, agents and / or producers and technical standards are developed. The"virtual" technical assistance was made with the support of a team of specialists in Health Technology Management, the decision makers in the planning, evaluation and procurement of biomedical equipment. The validation of the service was conducted by involving specialists in the field of Health Technology Management, from different disciplines and institutions who worked in health, public and private. They used the service for a period of time to verify its feasibility of use as well as its usefulness for their planning, evaluation and procurement of biomedical equipment. To these experts we applied a survey before and after them about the software developed in this project. RESULTS: We found that it is common to use the internet to search for information on medical equipment.Also,an increase on the view that the application will help in procurement of biomedical equipment(40% to 78%) was observed, it will improve the information system(40% to 89%) and communication among physicians,nurses, planners, engineers and other professionals involved in this process(20% to 78%). CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a technological tool available with such features contribute to technology management in Peru.

Desarrollo de un servicio en línea para la gestión tecnológica en salud / Development of a service on line advice and information technology management for health

Desarrollar un servicio de asesoría en línea para la gestión tecnológica en salud, que contribuya a realizar procesos de evaluación y adquisición de equipos médicos según el mercado y las necesidades de las instituciones de salud. Materiales y métodos. Se desarrolló una solución tecnológica vía Internet soportada en una base de datos con información sistematizada y actualizada de especificaciones técnicas de 25 equipos médicos, precios referenciales, lista de proveedores, representantes y/o fabricantes y normas técnicas, así como un servicio de asesoría técnica ôvirtualõ. La validación del servicio se realizó mediante la participación de especialistas en el tema de gestión de tecnologías en salud, de diferentes disciplinas y que laboraban en entidades de salud, públicas y privadas. Ellos utilizaron el servicio durante un período para comprobar su factibilidad de uso. A dichos expertos se les aplico una encuesta antes y después de darles a conocer el software desarrollado en el presente proyecto. Resultados. Se encontró que es usual el uso de Internet para buscar información sobre equipos médicos. Asimismo, se observó un incremento sobre la opinión de que el aplicativo será de ayuda en las adquisiciones de equipos biomédicos (de 40 a 78%), mejorará el sistema de información (de 40 a 89%) y la comunicación entre médicos, enfermeras, planificadores, ingenieros y demás profesionales que participan en dicho proceso (de 20 a 78%). Conclusiones. Existe la necesidad de tener disponible una herramienta tecnológica con tales características que contribuya a la gestión tecnológica en el Perú...

To validate an advisory service and online information technology management for health and helps to make assessment and acquisition processes an informed medical equipment according to the market and the needs of thehealth institutions. Materials and methods. Internet via a technological solution supported on a data base containing systematic and updated information on technical specifications of 25 compared medical equipment, the same reference prices, list of suppliers, agents and / or producers and technical standards are developed. The õvirtualõ technical assistance was made with the support of a team of specialists in Health Technology Management, the decision makers in the planning, evaluation and procurement of biomedical equipment. The validation of the service was conducted by involving specialists in the field of Health Technology Management, from different disciplines and institutions who worked in health, public and private. They used the service for a period of time to verify its feasibility of use as well as its usefulness for their planning, evaluation and procurement of biomedical equipment. To these experts we applied a survey before and afterthem about the software developed in this project. Results. We found that it is common to use the internet to search forinformation on medical equipment. Also, an increase on the view that the application will help in procurement of biomedical equipment (40% to 78%) was observed, it will improve the information system (40% to 89%) and communication among physicians, nurses, planners, engineers and other professionals involved in this process (20% to 78%). Conclusions. There is a need for a technological tool available with such features contribute to technology management in Peru...