Preventing HIV: determinants of sexual behaviour

Abstract

AIDS has Invigorated and distorted the study of sexual behaviour. Because that study began so recently, there remain many unanswered questions about why we have sex at all, why we do sex one way rather than another, or even how we define sex. Yet in every instance in which well-designed and adequately resourced behavioural Interventions have been Implemented, these have netted success in the form of falling HIV incidences or prevalences. But, despite these successes, such interventions remain patchy and poorly supported. Perhaps humankind's traditional aversion for the public discussion of sexual matters underlies this reticence. Or maybe a new era of "creeping absolutism"--in which biomedical advances are given premature credit for what they can achieve in HIV control--has arrived.

PIP: This article focuses on the significance of determining sexual behavior in the prevention of HIV infection. Studies have been conducted to investigate the different sexual behaviors and to develop behavioral interventions to decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS infection. This article contains the malleable definition of sex, psychosocial reasons for having sex, reasons for taking money for sex, and the potential determinants of sexual behavior. The authors also discussed the positive shift of sexual behavior in relation to HIV infection. However, several reasons were noted for the lack of behavioral change despite the increasing spread of HIV infection. In response, various models for behavioral change were developed, and several barriers to safer sex were noted. The fledging field of sexual-health promotion still has a long way to go, however, much has been achieved. The authors emphasized the need for further sexual behavior interventions that would fully integrate HIV control and sexual-health promotion to produce substantial gains for the entire population.