Prevention of HIV Infection in Women: Overcoming Barriers

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Publication Title

Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association

Volume

50

Issue

3-4

First page number:

74

Last page number:

77

Abstract

The proportion of total reported cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in US women increased annually between 1988 and 1994 from 10% to 18%, indicating an urgent need for prevention measures. Interventions designed to reduce unsafe sex and drug-using behaviors in women have been limited. Barriers to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention for women include a disproportionately low investment of resources, inadequacy and inaccessibility of substance abuse treatment programs, the crack/cocaine epidemic and resulting unsafe sex behaviors, lack of a woman-controlled method to prevent sexual transmission of HIV, and unique social and cultural factors that limit women's power in sexual decision making. Some interventions have been successful in reducing women's risk behaviors. Expanding prevention efforts targeted to women is necessary in order to stem the rising rate of HIV infection.

Keywords

AIDS (Disease) – Prevention; Drug abusers; HIV infections – Prevention; Unsafe sex; Women – Sexual behavior

Disciplines

Epidemiology | Immune System Diseases | Public Health | Virus Diseases | Women's Health

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited


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