The following HTML text is provided to enhance online
readability. Many aspects of typography translate only awkwardly to HTML.
Please use the page image
as the authoritative form to ensure accuracy.
Aids and Behavior: An Integrated Approach
PART I RESEARCH FINDINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES
UNDERSTANDING HIV TRANSMISSION
Although the general categories of risk behavior are well known, the specific acts responsible for HIV transmission—use of injection drugs and sexual practices, for example—have not been adequately researched or discussed because of their sensitive nature. Yet, in order to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies, it is crucial to understand the specific behaviors involved. As described in Chapter 2, knowledge gained to date from the biological, epidemiological, psychological, and social sciences—much of it supported by NIAAA, NIDA, and NIMH—has helped elucidate the specific behaviors responsible for transmitting HIV. However, much remains to be learned. In particular, the prevalence and spread of those behaviors within certain communities is unknown.
SEX, DRUGUSE,ANDHIV TRANSMISSION
As with any sexually transmitted disease, the transmission of HIV is highly dependent on the number of partners one has and the specific types of sexual practices in which one engages. Anal intercourse carries the highest risk for HIV acquisition, followed by penile-vaginal and oral-genital intercourse. These sexual behaviors can place anyone at for HIV, regardless of his or her sexual orientation or gender. However, having a large number of sexual partners, and having a concurrent or prior infection (such as those associated with syphilis, gonorrhea, anal and genital warts, and herpes), may increase one's susceptibility to infection (CDC, 1987).
With respect to drug use, the sharing of hypodermic needles, syringes, and other injection paraphernalia is the most likely route of HIV transmission. The vector is the exchange of the blood of the previous user that is lodged in the paraphernalia. Certain methods of injection drug use are believed to be more risky than others, but any method that involves contact with potentially infected blood is dangerous (Grund, Kaplan, and Adriaans, 1989; Grund et al., 1990; Inciardi, 1990a; Inciardi and Page, 1991; Jose et al., 1993).
Much high-risk sexual and drug-using behavior in urban locales takes place in specific settings, such as ''shooting galleries" and
Items in cart [0]
