Sexual Risk Behavior Among HIV-Positive Patients at an Urban Clinic in Santiago, Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, more than 1 percent of adults are HIV-infected; most transmissions of the virus occur sexually. The current study examines risk behaviors in a group of HIV-positive individuals receiving treatment in Santiago.

The researchers interviewed 129 patients seen in May 2006 in one of the nation's largest public hospital HIV clinics. The interviews collected information including demographics, sexual history, and condom use, and they focused on the patients' last sexual encounter.

The majority of patients (72.4 percent) reported they had been sexually active since being diagnosed with HIV. After their diagnosis, 72.8 percent of patients who were sexually active used condoms more frequently; 21.7 percent used condoms with the same frequency; and 5.4 percent used condoms less often.

The most common reason for not using condoms after being diagnosed with HIV differed by gender: Men cited decreased sexual pleasure (70 percent), while women reported their partner had refused to wear a condom (71.8 percent). Patients who were sexually active and believed their partner was HIV-negative were much more likely to report condom use during last sex than patients who did not know their partner's HIV status (odds ratio=16.9).

"HIV-positive patients reported using condoms more frequently following their HIV diagnosis and were more likely to use a condom if they believed their partner did not have HIV," the authors concluded. "Increased HIV testing may lead to reduced sexual risk behavior in the Dominican Republic."

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