A Profile of HIV-Risk Behaviours Among Travellers
The population of Greenland has behavioural characteristics that indicate a high risk of HIV spread once HIV is introduced into the population. Much depends, however, on the degree of exposure from visitors, particularly in an initial phase. We used a national questionnaire survey of 4 680 randomly...
| Published in: | Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publications
1994
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/140349489402200308 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/140349489402200308 |
| Summary: | The population of Greenland has behavioural characteristics that indicate a high risk of HIV spread once HIV is introduced into the population. Much depends, however, on the degree of exposure from visitors, particularly in an initial phase. We used a national questionnaire survey of 4 680 randomly selected Danes between 18–59 years to study HIV risk behaviours among Danes with (+travellers) and without (-travellers) travel experience to Greenland. Median number of lifetime sexual partners was more than twice as high among male +travellers (median = 12 partners) compared to -travellers (median = 5; p < 0.0001) and also slightly higher among women ( p = 0.03). Furthermore, a significantly higher percentage of male +travellers than -travellers reported prostitute contact (OR = 2.3 (95% CI: 1.4–3.9)), with a peak of 32.0% among men aged 40–49 years. A history of a sexually transmitted disease was three times (95% CI: 2.0–4.5) as common among +travellers as in -travellers. +Travellers were also significantly more likely to have visited other places outside Europe and Greenland, including HIV endemic areas (OR = 2.9 (2.0–4.1)). Overall, sexual contact with someone considered at high risk of HIV infection (a homo/bisexual man, intravenous drug user, prostitute, or previous or present resident of Sub-Saharan Africa) was reported by 33.5% of male +travellers compared to 15.6% of -travellers and among women by 9.7% and 5.0%, respectively. In conclusion, travellers tend to have more sexual partners and more sexual interaction with high HIV-risk group members than non-travellers. A national intervention programme to prevent HIV spread in Greenland should not only consider campaigns to educate safe sex procedures among the Inuits but also establish an intervention programme for visitors to the island. |
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