Poverty, gender and psychosocial dimensions of safe-sex behaviour of Zambian women

George Groenewold, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)
Inge Hutter, University of Groningen
Jeroen van Ginneken, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)
Bart de Bruijn, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)

Most HIV infected women live in Sub Saharan Africa and infection rates are higher than of men, and the gap is growing. This study examines effects of contextual, household wealth, gender and sexual networks, socio-economic/demographic and psychosocial factors on condom use in an important sub-group of Zambian women: women who recently had sex for reasons other than becoming pregnant. Multivariate analyses of ZDHS 2001/2002 data shows that province of residence, ethnic affiliation, wealth status, age, marital status, education, HIV risk perception and perceived degree of self-efficacy in sexual engagements are important predictors of (un)safe sex behaviour. The analysis also shows that it is important to examine effects of factors in different marital status groups. Results can be used to ‘profile’ women with lowest condom use and high risk perceptions so that they be served with HIV/AIDS programs and channels of communication that take account of their profiling characteristics.