Tarkang Elvis E, Adam Awolu, Kweku Maragret
Department of Population and Behavioral Science, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana; HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Network, Kumba, Cameroon.
Department of Family and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences , Ho, Ghana.
J Public Health Afr. 2015 May 6;6(1):491. doi: 10.4081/jphia.2015.491. eCollection 2015 Mar 31.
Persons with disabilities have been identified as one of the groups vulnerable to HIV, due to several challenges posed by their disabilities. They also suffer external stigma from their able bodied peers. However, they have largely been ignored as part of HIV prevention programs, largely due to the perceptions that they are not at risk, and information is not being accessible. About 5.4% of the Cameroon population lives with a disability. In Cameroon, no official statistics exist on perception of factors associated with condom use to prevent HIV among persons with disabilities, which creates a challenge for understanding the extent of the pandemic in this population. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate perceptions of factors associated with condom use among persons with physical disability in an urban town of Cameroon. The qualitative study from which this paper is based, used semi-structured in-depth interviews, conducted with a purposive sample of ten (5 male and 5 female) persons with physical disability, aged 18 years and above, in April 2015. The findings of this study as interpreted according to the components of the Health Belief Model, indicated that perceived susceptibility to HIV, perceived severity of HIV, perceived benefit of condom use, perceived barriers to condom use and perceived self-efficacy for condom use were the factors perceived by persons with physical disability, to be associated with condom use. It is therefore recommended that there should be educational programs in HIV/AIDS targeted specifically at persons with physical disability. These programs should pertinently promote the understanding and perceptions of persons with physical disability of the real threat of HIV/AIDS, and also equip them with condom negotiation skills and strategies to overcome barriers to condom use.
由于残疾带来的诸多挑战，残疾人被视为易感染艾滋病毒的群体之一。他们还受到健全同龄人带来的外部耻辱感。然而，作为艾滋病毒预防计划的一部分，他们在很大程度上被忽视了，这主要是因为人们认为他们没有风险，且无法获取相关信息。喀麦隆约5.4%的人口患有残疾。在喀麦隆，没有关于残疾人对与使用避孕套预防艾滋病毒相关因素的认知的官方统计数据，这给了解该人群中这一流行病的程度带来了挑战。因此，本研究的目的是调查喀麦隆一个城镇中肢体残疾者对与使用避孕套相关因素的认知。本文所基于的定性研究采用了半结构化深度访谈，于2015年4月对10名（5名男性和5名女性）年龄在18岁及以上的肢体残疾者进行了有目的抽样访谈。根据健康信念模型的组成部分对本研究结果进行解读表明，肢体残疾者认为对艾滋病毒的易感性、艾滋病毒的严重性、使用避孕套的益处、使用避孕套的障碍以及使用避孕套的自我效能感是与使用避孕套相关的因素。因此，建议针对肢体残疾者开展专门的艾滋病毒/艾滋病教育项目。这些项目应切实促进肢体残疾者对艾滋病毒/艾滋病真实威胁的理解和认知，并使他们具备避孕套谈判技巧和克服使用避孕套障碍所需的策略。
