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AIDS Prevention CurriculumFemaleDrug-Abusing Prisoners This study attempted to explore the attitudes, belief, risk behavior and perceived needs of HIV/AIDS education of female drug-abused prisoners. Before the study, we excluded the female drug-abused prisoners with poor mental health and the other were asked to consent to participant after informed purposes of this study. The data were collected via face to face interview with ten prisoners. The results indicated they had adequate knowledge of routes of infection HIV, but hold several misconceptions, such as mosquito bites or swimming in the pool with infected persons. The majority of participants didn t believe to they were susceptible to HIV/AIDS, and also showed unwilling to regularly use condoms while having sexual behavior in the future. There were three major reasons: 1. Perceived association between condom use and trust in partner. 2. Sensation reduction. 3. Do not know how to communicate with partners and when to put condom on. Most participants had no confidence in the confidentiality of taking HIV screening, and do not know where to take free HIV screening. The prisoners felt the stigma of AIDS was pervasive. They thought that homosexuality and sugar girls were the high-risk groups infected HIV. They cared about discrimination and stigmatization of HIV/AIDS and would rather get cancer than infect HIV. If they did infect HIV, they would choose to suicide because they were ashamed to 4
their family. In conclusion, female drug-abusing prisoners still have questions and misunderstanding about the routes of infection of HIV, condom use, trust in partners, stigmatization of AIDS and confidentiality of HIV screening. These are what female drug-abused prisoners need in HIV/AIDS education. This finding is helpful to develop HIV/AIDS education programs and to provide some suggestions for policy-making. 5
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