An Exploratory Study of Jamaican Women’s Health Beliefs around Male Condom Use and Negotiation in Jamaica

ABSTRACT

This study explored African-Jamaican women’s lived experiences and meanings around the communication and negotiation of male condoms used in their relationships. A qualitative phenomenological research design was utilized. Semi-structured interviews were collected with a small sample of nine African-Jamaican women living in Saint Mary, Jamaica. Results indicate that women’s power in relationships may be masked, despite being at a disadvantage when communicating/negotiating male condom use. Several facilitators and barriers for communicating/negotiating condom use were identified. Interventions developed to combat the HIV epidemic in Islington, Saint Mary, must take into consideration structural factors in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV/AIDS
• communication
• negotiation and Jamaica

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.