Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/222950

Title

What women worry about: The place of HIV/AIDS and STDs in health concerns among Turkish, second-generation Greek, Chilean, Vietnamese and Anglo-Australian women

Author(s)

Gifford, Sandra M.;  Bakopanos, Christine;  Yesilyurt, Zeynep;  Dawson, Maria-Teresa;  Rosenthal, Doreen;  Smith, Anthony

Abstract

This paper reports on the survey results of a two stage study, designed to explore the relationship between culture, gender and concerns about risks of STDs including HIV/AIDS, among five ethnic groups in Melbourne, Australia. A key aim of the study was to identify the place of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, within the broader context of women's health concerns. The results reported are derived from a questionnaire administered to 538 women between the ages of 18 to 40 years, from Chilean, Greek (second-generation), Turkish, Vietnamese and Anglo Saxon/Celtic backgrounds. Within the broader context of women's health, only 26% of all women nominated 'sexual health related problems' as one of their top three concerns. Instead, stress, breast cancer and feeling tired ranked as the main health concerns. Stress ranked as the number one personal concern for all groups of women except the Vietnamese group who were most concerned about general fitness. When asked to name a sexual health problem they had heard about, about half of all women first mentioned HIV/AIDS, unprompted. When asked to name other sexual health problems, Anglo, Greek and Chilean women named a wide range of conditions with Turkish and Vietnamese women naming a narrower range. The most common sexual health problems named by all women were: HIV/AIDS, herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis and thrush. Few women named chlamydia or Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. When asked about health services and places they would go for information and treatment for sexual health problems, the majority of women said they would visit their family doctor. Other services women also nominated were a women's clinic at a hospital and the place where they get their Pap smear test. A smaller proportion of women reported that they would use a sexual health clinic; however, Turkish and Vietnamese women were the least likely to say they would use this service. Our findings suggest that it is important to integrate ethno-sensitive strategies for education, prevention and treatment of STDs including HIV/AIDS into mainstream women's health services and to increase the role of the family doctor in prevention, harm reduction, early diagnosis and treatment of STDs. Our study also suggests that although there are cultural/ethnic differences between the groups of women which influence issues of sexuality and health, as women, they share much in common across groups because of their gender. We conclude by arguing strongly for more emphasis being put on gender and ethno sensitive approaches (compared to gender and ethno specific approaches) that are integrated into the health services already well used by women.

Publication type

Journal article

Source

Venereology, Vol. 10, no. 4 (1997), pp. 236-249

Publication year

1997

Keyword(s)

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome;  Chile;  Cultural factor;  Ethnic group;  Greece;  Health behavior;  Health survey;  Human immunodeficiency virus infection;  Infection prevention;  Major clinical study;  Sexually transmitted disease;  Turkey;  Vietnam;  Virus transmission

Publisher

Venereology Publishing

ISSN

1032-1012

Copyright

Copyright © 1997.

Peer reviewed