Prevalence, risk behaviours, and HIV knowledge in an Indigenous community in Colombia

Abstract

There are 87 Indigenous ethnic groups in Colombia, representing 3.4% of the country's population. Poverty, forced displacement, and social and health inequities place Indigenous communities at increased risk of HIV/AIDS. However, little is known about the prevalence of HIV in this population. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in an Indigenous community in Colombia, and to assess community members' knowledge about the disease and its risk factors. The study, conducted in 2010, was initiated at the request of the leadership of the community of Cristianía and involved community members in all stages of the project. HIV prevalence data were gathered through rapid testing of a random sample of 295 community members between the ages of 15 and 49 years. As well, researchers administered a survey related to sexual behaviours and knowledge about HIV. Findings revealed 3 cases of HIV, a prevalence of 1.02%, 95% CI [0.21, 2.94]. The 3 cases were women. The majority of individuals sampled had heard of HIV or AIDS, but their level of knowledge about the mechanisms of virus transmission varied substantially. The results of this study, the first to explore the prevalence of HIV among Indigenous people within a community in Colombia, suggest a need to investigate HIV prevalence within other Indigenous communities in Colombia.

HIV, syphilis, and viral hepatitis among Latin American indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants: a systematic review

“…Three documents contained case reporting and 22 had prevalence data from 16 unique studies (two studies in Afro-descendants and the rest in indigenous groups). Of these 16 studies, eight used non-treponemal tests combined with confirmatory treponemal tests to establish active infection (range: 0.5%–11.6%) (29–30, 33–36, 38, 39); four used treponemal rapid tests exclusively to determine the seroprevalence of syphilis (range: 1.6%–7.0%) (16, 27, 62, 63); one study used a non-treponemal test exclusively (0%) (64); and three studies did not report their testing method (28, 31, 37). Figure 3 compares the data from the eight studies on active syphilis with national benchmarks (65), showing higher syphilis prevalence in indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants in all eight studies.…”

“…Among the 18 studies reporting hepatitis B prevalence, six were conducted with Afro-Brazilians and the remaining 12 with indigenous groups. Figure 4 shows data from 16 of the 18 studies (27, 36, 70–83) that reported HBsAg prevalence in indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela compared to Center for Disease Analysis (Lafayette, Colorado, USA) 2016 estimates of HBsAg for each country, and standardized definitions of endemicity (9). The two studies not included in Figure 4 were left out due to a small sample size (84) and a sample of children under 5 (85).…”

“…Indigenous peoples have reported lower knowledge about HIV, its transmission, and preventive practices (87–89), and higher risk behavior, such as lower condom use (87, 90, 91), compared to national averages. In addition, indigenous and Afro-descendant females generally have exhibited lower knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention than men (27, 36, 38, 92, 93), and reported lower usage of condoms (29, 36, 44, 90), and higher levels of forced sex; whereas males have reported more multiple sexual partnerships (29, 30, 36, 87) and lower exposure to HIV tests (27, 30, 46).…”