Sexual behaviors related to HIV infection in Yi women of childbearing age in rural areas of southwest China

ABSTRACT

Liangshan Prefecture, the highest HIV-affected epidemic region in China, has more than 2.5 million Yi people. We firstly investigated the sexual behaviors and the related social determinants of health for HIV infection in Yi women of childbearing age in this area. A total of 800 Yi women of childbearing age were enrolled. Path analysis of the risk factors revealed that casual sex (0.152) and number of sex partners (0.152) were directly associated with HIV infection. Furthermore, education level (0.057), out-migrating for work (0.032), sense of self-worth (0.024) and number of sex partners (0.079) were indirectly related to HIV infection and mediated by casual sex and multiple sexual partners. The epidemic of HIV infection among Yi women of childbearing age in Liangshan Prefecture is serious, future promotion should increase their knowledge about condom and modify their perceptions of sexual behaviors.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• women of childbearing age
• Yi people
• sexual behavior
• social determinants of health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by grant funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81703279]; Sichuan Science and Technology Program [grant number 2019YJ0148]; Sichuan Provincial foundation for AIDS prevention and control [grant number 2018-WJW-03]; Liangshan AIDS/HIV prevention project [grant number H170614], [grant number H161236].