Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

wisdomofwhores.com
from wisdomofwhores.com More from this publisher
14.03.2015 Views

Adult Indicator 3 Number of non-regular partners in the last year Definition Option 1 : Option 2 : Numerator : Median number of sexual partners in the last 12 months who are not spousal or cohabiting, and who are not commercial partners Number of male/female respondents who have had sex with more than x non-regular (i.e. non-spousal, non-cohabiting and noncommercial) Denominator : Total number of male/female respondents Measurement tools Adult questionnaire Q304 What it measures The spread of HIV depends upon unprotected sex with people who also have other partners. Most monogamous relationships are cohabiting, although the reverse is not necessarily true. Partners who do not live together — who have sex only occasionally — are those who are most likely to have other partners over the course of a year. These partnerships therefore carry a higher risk of HIV transmission than partnerships that do not link in to a wider sexual network. AIDS prevention programs try to discourage high numbers of partnerships, and to encourage mutual monogamy. This indicator aims to give a picture of the proportion of the population that engages in relatively high risk partnerships and that is therefore more likely to be exposed to sexual networks within which HIV can circulate. How to measure it Respondents are asked whether they have had sex in the past 12 months, and if so, whether they have had sex with a spouse or regular partner, with a non-regular partner, or with a commercial partner. They are further asked how many partners they have had of each type in the previous year. This indictor is calculated using information about the second category only. For this indicator the “threshold” number of non-regular partners should be defined locally. Since the purpose of an indicator is to measure changes in risk behavior over time, it is suggested that this threshold be derived from the first round of surveillance. The most appropriate threshold may depend on the distribution of risk behavior in a population, as well as on background levels of HIV prevalence. Where background HIV prevalence is high and any non-regular sex carries a high risk of transmission, the threshold may be set at the median value recorded during the first round. In epidemics where the risk of HIV is concentrated in groups with higher than average risk behavior, the threshold may be set higher, say at the 75th percentile. This will track reductions in risk among those at the higher risk end of the spectrum. Where sexual behavior is normally distributed around the mean, it may be sufficient to track changes in the median numbers of non-regular partners. 106 C H A PTER 9 B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E S U R V EY S

Strengths and limitations Some measures of “non-regular” sex (such as M&E Sexual Behavior Indicator 1) measure any sex with non-regular partners. If people stop having sex with all of their extramarital partners, the change will be captured by changes in these indicators. However, if people decrease from seven extra-marital partners to one, the indicator will not reflect a change, even though potentially this may have a significant impact on the epidemic spread of HIV and may be counted as a program success. Adult Indicator 3 sets less stringent (and perhaps more realistic) thresholds for changes in risk behavior. It is especially useful in sub-populations with a high turnover of non-regular partners. Such populations are frequently chosen as respondent groups for BSS. This indicator should always be interpreted together with Adult Indicator 6. to give a more complete picture of levels of extra-marital sex in a population. Together, these indicators give an idea of the success or failure of the “stick to one, faithful partner” message espoused by many HIV prevention programs. B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E SURV EY S CHAPTER 9 107

Strengths and limitations<br />

Some measures <strong>of</strong> “non-regular” sex (such<br />

as M&E Sexual Behavior Indicator 1) measure<br />

any sex with non-regular partners. If people<br />

stop having sex with all <strong>of</strong> their extramarital<br />

partners, the change will be captured by<br />

changes in these indicators. However, if<br />

people decrease from seven extra-marital<br />

partners to one, the indicator will not reflect a<br />

change, even though potentially this may have<br />

a significant impact on the epidemic spread <strong>of</strong><br />

HIV and may be counted as a program success.<br />

Adult Indicator 3 sets less stringent (and perhaps<br />

more realistic) thresholds for changes in risk<br />

behavior. It is especially useful in sub-populations<br />

with a high turnover <strong>of</strong> non-regular<br />

partners. Such populations are frequently<br />

chosen as respondent groups for BSS.<br />

This indicator should always be interpreted<br />

together with Adult Indicator 6. to give a more<br />

complete picture <strong>of</strong> levels <strong>of</strong> extra-marital<br />

sex in a population. Together, these indicators<br />

give an idea <strong>of</strong> the success or failure <strong>of</strong> the<br />

“stick to one, faithful partner” message<br />

espoused by many HIV prevention programs.<br />

B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E SURV EY S CHAPTER 9<br />

107

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!