United Press International - Wednesday, 12 July 2000
Michael Smith, UPI Science News

Behaviorial scientist Ann O'Leary said regular condom use went from 2 percent to 70 percent in a 14-week study, which included three meetings with nurses who helped the Zimbabwean women develop "negotiating strategies."

Most of the women just told their partners they had been tested, were free of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), and wanted to stay that way. But other women invented more imaginative tales to convince their partners to use condoms, O'Leary said.

One woman, she said, told her husband she had cancer and so was forced to use condoms. Another reported that she said: "At the study I went to they found I had dirt in my uterus, so how about if we use condoms to prevent disease?"

Another strategy was to play on the paternal feelings of the men, especially those with other sexual partners: "It is better to use condoms," one woman said, "so that I can stay and look after the children when you are dead. We can't both die."

The use of condoms is culturally limited in many African countries, because men feel they detract from their masculinity, and many women feel unable to bring up the idea, for fear of being thought to have too great an interest in sex.

As a result, O'Leary said, there has been an intense international effort to find HIV prevention methods that would be under the control of women, such as the female condom and vaginal microbicides.

But the female condom is not yet widely used and "we still don't have a microbicide that works," she said. In fact, hopes for a vaginal microbicide were dashed (Wednesday) when a study showed that one of the most highly-touted potential microbicides -- the spermicide nonoxynol-9 -- does not work.

But O'Leary said the idea that women don't have control of their sexuality in developing countries is often exaggerated.

"Most women are in loving relationships," she said, and can find ways of persuading their partner to have safer sex. The women came to the Harare testing center mainly for HIV testing, O'Leary said, but 296 of those who were HIV-negative took part in her study, which involved three sessions with a counselor for brain-storming sessions on what to tell husbands and partners.

"Women are imaginative and they can be pretty strong," she said.

Zimbabwe is one of the hot spots of the African AIDS epidemic, with about one person in four infected with HIV.
000712
UP000723

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2000. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2000. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .