Women's Knowledge and Attitudes regarding HIV/STDs and Contraception in Portsmouth, Dominica: A Qualitative Study of Women and their Sexual Decision-making

Abstract

The AIDS pandemic first touched the English-speaking Caribbean in the early eighties. In Jamaica, the first cases were reported in 1982 and in Trinidad and Tobago in 1983 (Anonymous, 1992). Seven percent of all the cases reported in 1992 to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) were from the countries of the Caribbean. Sero-prevalence studies in blood donors at this time yielded HIV prevalence of 0.06 % to 1.1 %. Women receiving prenatal care also demonstrated low sero-prevalence when screened (0.2 0.7 %). In 1996 the Englishspeaking Caribbean accounted for 4.6 % of the cumulative total of cases reported in the Americas to PAHO and 0.7 % of the cases reported worldwide to the World Health Organization (WHO) (HIV Insite, 1996). While the rate of spread of HIV/AIDS has been slower in the English-speaking Caribbean countries than in other developing regions of the world, the pandemic is well established and rates are increasing, particularly among women. Sexual behaviors throughout the region reflect patterns that place the population at risk for HIV (HIV Insite, 1996). These behaviors include, the early onset of sexual activity, cultural acceptability of multiple partners (particularly among males), and low levels of condom use. The current epidemiological profile of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean is marked by high-risk situations favorable to a rapid spread of HIV infection. The epidemiological evidence in the region signals a rapid shift of new infections to younger ages particularly toward people between 15 and 24 years of age.