A knowledge, attitude and practice, survey among adult Barbadians: attitudes, and practices in relation to condom use - abstract

ABSTRACT

A survey of knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to AIDS was conducted on a 0.4 percent sample of adult Barbadians, obtained from the country's electoral register. Interviews were conducted by trained social science service students in the respondents' homes. The demography of the sample in relation to race and gender are representative of the population. However, the age group 25-44 years, is under-represented compared with the estimated adult population. Respondents were aware of the correct modes of transmission of HIV; 79.6 percent of them perceived that their lifestyle would prevent them from acquiring HIV infection, and 9 percent said it would not. Myths are present, however; for example, 40.9 percent of respondents thought that by practising vaginal sex only they could avoid transmission of HIV, and 59.7 percent thought that lesbians were at high risk for getting HIV. Although 68.7 percent of respondents agreed that condoms provided good protection against the transmission of HIV, 14.5 percent disagreed. The 18-24 year-old group, both men and women, were significantly more in agreement about the protection that condoms afforded. There was no significant difference between men and women in the 11 percent of respondents who said that they always used condoms. However, there were significantly more women who said they never used condoms at all and more men than women who said they used them sometimes. Both men and women, 15.4 percent of those responding, agreed that some women refused to have sex without condoms, and that men responded postively when asked to do so. However, a quarter of the men said that some women requested that condoms be not used; this paralleled the quarter of women who said they did not use condoms because it reduced their pleasure. In that regard, 42.9 percent of men said they did not use condoms because they reduced their pleasure in sex. It is of interest that 60 percent of the women responding did not agree that condoms were a man's responsibility only (AU)