Interpreting sexual behaviour data: validity issues in the multicentre study on factors determining the differential spread of HIV in four African cities

Buvé, Anne; Lagarde, Emmanuel; Caraël, Michel; Rutenberg, Naomi; Ferry, Barbara; Glynn, Judith R.; Laourou, M.; Akam, E.; Chege, Jane; Sukwa, T.

doi:10.1097/00002030-200108004-00013

Cited by 113 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…5 When valid data on sexual behaviour change are required, period effects can pose additional challenges. 6 For example, sexual behaviour in men in Zimbabwe is associated with length of time since last pay day. 7 Respondents interviewed at different times of the month in successive rounds of a survey may appear to have changed their behaviour when this has not, in fact, been the case.…”

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confidence: 99%

Informal confidential voting interview methods and temporal changes in reported sexual risk behaviour for HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa

Gregson

2004

Sexually Transmitted Infections

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Objectives: Reliable data on sexual behaviour trends are needed to evaluate HIV interventions in subSaharan Africa but are difficult to obtain due inter alia to social desirability bias. The objective of this paper is to assess whether the use of informal confidential voting interviews (ICVI) was associated with greater reporting of socially proscribed behavioural risk factors for HIV infection than were conventional interviewing methods. Methods: Comparison of changes in reports of risk behaviours for HIV infection in ICVI versus face to face interviews (FTFIs) between the first two rounds of a large scale, longitudinal, population based survey in Manicaland, Zimbabwe. Examination of factors that could contribute to observed changes in the effect of ICVI, including temporal changes in response error and social desirability, and factors affecting statistical power to detect differences between methods-that is, reductions in the prevalence of risk behaviours and sample size. Results: Enhanced reporting of HIV associated risk behaviours in ICVI interviews was not so apparent in the second round as in the first round of the survey, particularly for less frequently reported behaviours. Levels of reported HIV associated risk behaviour and sample sizes both declined between the two survey rounds. The level of response error was higher in ICVI interviews than in FTFI interviews but did not alter over time. Conclusion: ICVI interviews can reduce social desirability bias in data on HIV associated risk behaviours. The extent and direction of change in net reduction in bias over time remains uncertain and will depend on local circumstances.

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confidence: 99%

Informal confidential voting interview methods and temporal changes in reported sexual risk behaviour for HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa

Gregson

2004

Sexually Transmitted Infections

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“…First, simulation outcomes are very sensitive to the assumptions considered, first among which is the level of sexual activity. The CHFLS may understate the level of sexual activity owing to an understatement of stigmatized behavior, a feature generally common to surveys of sexual behavior, especially among women (Buvé et al 2001;Mensch, Hewett, and Erulkar 2003;Curtis and Sutherland 2004). In previous work we have shown the sensitivity of simulated HIV prevalence to changes in the levels of sexual activity, with a larger epidemic produced by a hypothetical higher rate of partner change consistent with levels of sexual activity observed in the U.S., which are higher than those in China (Merli et al 2006).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Masculine sex ratios, population age structure and the potential spread of HIV in China

Merli

Hertog²

2010

DemRes

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“…A first insight can give the Multicentre Study of Factors Determining the Different Prevalences of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, which estimated the magnitude of misreporting by testing for various sexually transmitted infections among women aged 15-24 years who reported that they had never had sexual intercourse (Buvé et al 2001b). The study concludes that between 6 and 18% of women had misreported their sexual activity.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies however, report a positive association between HIV infection and wealth (see for example Lachaud 2007, Mishra et al 2007. (4) A high HIV prevalence in adolescent women who report that they have not initiated sexual activity is found by Gavin et al (2006) and Buvé et al (2001b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Virgin HIV Puzzle: Can Misreporting Account for the High Proportion of HIV Cases in Self-reported Virgins?

Deuchert¹

2010

Journal of African Economies

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may SummaryThe Demographic and Health Surveys from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Malawi reveal that a significant proportion of HIV infections in adolescent women occurred in women who claim to be virgin. Two possible conclusions arise from this observation: adolescent women misreport sexual status or non-sexual risk is more relevant than previously asserted. This paper uses a nonparametric model to estimate the proportion of HIV infections associated with sexual activity under different assumptions on data accuracy. It shows that there is an inverse relation between data accuracy and importance of sexual HIV transmission. If all adolescent women in the considered sub-sample correctly report sexual activity, 70% of HIV infections cannot be attributed to sexual HIV transmission. The model predicts that more than 95% of HIV infections are due to sexual HIV infections, if a substantial proportion of self-reported virgins (between 40 and 90%) misreport sexual status.JEL code: C14, I10, I12

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Interpreting sexual behaviour data: validity issues in the multicentre study on factors determining the differential spread of HIV in four African cities

Cited by 113 publications

References 3 publications

Informal confidential voting interview methods and temporal changes in reported sexual risk behaviour for HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa

Informal confidential voting interview methods and temporal changes in reported sexual risk behaviour for HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa

Masculine sex ratios, population age structure and the potential spread of HIV in China

The Virgin HIV Puzzle: Can Misreporting Account for the High Proportion of HIV Cases in Self-reported Virgins?

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