Document 0303
 DOCN  M9650303
 TI    AIDS risk-taking behavior during carnival in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
 DT    9605
 AU    Hughes V; Stall RD; Klouri C; Barrett DC; Arevalo EI; Hearst N; Office
       of the Secretary of Health, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
 SO    AIDS. 1995 Jul;9 Suppl 1:S39-44. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/96085742
 AB    OBJECTIVE: The Brazilian Carnival is thought to be a time when the risk
       of HIV infection is likely to be high. We therefore compared the risk
       during Carnival to risk in the past month among male samba school
       participants in Sao Paulo, Brazil. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A
       cross-sectional study was conducted among 380 male samba school drummers
       randomly sampled during rehearsal for the 1993 Carnival in Sao Paulo by
       means of a 20-min interviewer-administered questionnaire. The main
       outcome variable was condom use with non-steady partners. RESULTS: The
       sexual behavior of 36.1% of subjects risked HIV infection, but only 9.7%
       of all subjects were at risk only during Carnival. Subjects with a
       sexual risk of HIV differed from those without risk in substance use,
       attitudes towards condoms and expectations about Carnival; those who
       were at risk only during Carnival did not differ from those who were at
       risk at other times. About half of the subjects had been given free
       condoms during Carnival, although few of the men at risk had actually
       used them. CONCLUSIONS: Though more than a third of the drummers were at
       risk of HIV infection, only a small per cent were at risk only during
       Carnival. The level of sexual risk of HIV infection is probably better
       explained by factors in the men's daily lives, rather than through
       information on risks taken during Carnival. These results raise
       questions concerning the efficacy of universal condom distribution
       during Carnival, since about half of the men were given condoms but few
       of those at risk actually used them. A targeted distribution of condoms
       to populations with a high demonstrated risk may be more effective in
       preventing new HIV infection.
 DE    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/PREVENTION & CONTROL/  *TRANSMISSION
       Adolescence  Adult  Brazil  Condoms  Cross-Sectional Studies
       *Developing Countries  *Holidays  Human  Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
       Male  *Risk-Taking  Sampling Studies  Sex Behavior  Support, Non-U.S.
       Gov't  Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.  *Urban Population  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).