PLACE in Jamaica: Monitoring AIDS Prevention at the Parish Level, St. James, 2003.


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Author(s):

Year: 2004

PLACE in Jamaica: Monitoring AIDS Prevention at the Parish Level, St. James, 2003. Abstract:

Researchers used the Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts (PLACE) method to collect information about high-risk populations in the St. James parish of Jamaica. About 1.5% of the adult population in Jamaica is infected with HIV, and the parish of St. James has a cumulative AIDS case rate that is two-and-a-half times higher than the national average. In 2003, community informants identified almost 500 local sites where Jamaicans meet to find new sexual partners and inject drugs; researchers then visited these sites, interviewed attendants about their sexual behaviors, and assessed sites for their capacity to house HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. Findings from this study suggest that focusing interventions at sexual network sites could reach people with high rates of new partner acquisition with condoms and prevention messages to decrease their risk of acquiring HIV and other STIs. A site-based approach is also likely to be a cost-effective way of reaching these people, who are most in need of prevention efforts.

Filed under: Sexual Behavior , Monitoring , Sex Workers , Jamaica , Condoms , HIV/AIDS , At-Risk Populations