Risky behavior regarding drug use and HIV infection: an Internet questionnaire coupled with short education texts for Portuguese speakers

Surveys of risky behavior relating to HIV/AIDS are generally made for groups at risk of infection, for which HIV/AIDS prevalence is usually expected to be higher than in the general population. Therefore, an educational homepage in Portuguese was created on the Internet to inform/ask internauts rega...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRevista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 400 - 404
Main Authors Strazza, Leila, Azevedo, Raymundo S, Carvalho, Heráclito B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Brazil Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 01.07.2007
Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Female
Health Education - methods
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV Infections - transmission
Humans
Internet
Male
Middle Aged
Risk-Taking
Sexual Behavior - statistics & numerical data
Substance-Related Disorders - complications
Surveys and Questionnaires
TROPICAL MEDICINE
HIV/AIDS
Risco sexual
Sexual risk
Adolescents and adults
Adolescentes e adultos
Vulnerabilidade
Vulnerability
Internet
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Summary:Surveys of risky behavior relating to HIV/AIDS are generally made for groups at risk of infection, for which HIV/AIDS prevalence is usually expected to be higher than in the general population. Therefore, an educational homepage in Portuguese was created on the Internet to inform/ask internauts regarding knowledge and behavior. The internauts were classified as adolescents (13 to 25 years) and adults (>25 years). The number of STDs was reported as 1. 8 +/- 2. 6 infections (range: 1 to 20 infections); 43% used condoms during sexual intercourse. Alcohol consumption was reported by 63% and illicit drug use by 32% (marijuana 24% and inhalants 15%). Among the adolescents, 31% did not classified alcohol as a drug. The adults more frequently reported homosexuality, anal intercourse and STDs, although the adolescents also presented high rates of risky behavior. These results show the need to reach out to internauts through better control strategies. Different types of strategies must be encouraged, in order to reach people that use this means of communication and entertainment.
ISSN:0037-8682
1678-9849
0037-8682
1678-9849
DOI:10.1590/S0037-86822007000400005