Reactions to repeated STD infections: Psychosocial aspects and gender issues in Zimbabwe

Pitts, Marian; Bowman, Margaret; McMaster, John

doi:10.1016/0277-9536(94)00183-t

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In India, a recent study has shown that 90% of male clients of male sex workers were married (Gordon andSleightholme 1996 cited in UNAIDS 1999). According to a study among married women in Zimbabwe, 97% of respondents reported their husbands as a source for their STD infection (Pitts et al 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marriage is not a safe place: Heterosexual marriage and HIV‐related vulnerability in Indonesia

Jacubowski¹

2008

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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This paper examines the link between heterosexual marriage and women's vulnerability to HIV in Indonesia. In this country, gender relations are currently dominated by traditional beliefs and practices and by religious morality. Data for the current study were collected by means of documentary analysis and archival research as well as by means of expert informant interviews. Findings suggest that traditional practices such as polygamy, early marriage and contract marriage (mut'a) play an important role in enhancing women's likelihood of acquiring HIV within the Indonesian context.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marriage is not a safe place: Heterosexual marriage and HIV‐related vulnerability in Indonesia

Jacubowski¹

2008

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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“…Discussions betw een the genders are extrem ely rare and lim ited to inform ation giving of possible infection from th e husban d to the wife. This com m unication pattern has been docum ented elsewhere also (Pitts et al, 1995). H ow ever, it is also clear that m any wom en do not realize that they have an STD, whilst only one m an did not believe he had an STD; th is gender imbalance would clearly affect com m unication patte rns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Little research has focused on wom en and ST D s (Pitts et al, 1995); however, m any of the m ain com plications of ST Ds are found in wom en. These com plications pose both a threat to life itself, and to the ability to bear children, an extrem ely importan t dimension of life for wo m en in Zimbabw e, (Gelfand, 1984).…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Why do people delay obtaining treatment for an STD? Perspectives from a developing country

Pitts¹

1999

Psychology, Health & Medicine

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A bstract Eighty-four consecutive clients at an urban clinic in Zimbabwe, who were seeking treatment for suspected STD s, were interviewed to ascertain the barriers and triggers which guided their behaviour. M ost respondents regarded having an STD as a serious problem, and were aw are of the ef® cacy of condom s in protecting them from ST Ds; nevertheless, very few reported using condom s regularly. K now ledge of ST Ds was patchy, with very few showing an understanding that they may be asym ptomatic. The m ain trigger for attendance was the presence of debilitating sym ptoms. M en were signi® cantly more likely than women to have visited the clinic for STD treatment on a previous occasion. M ost had tried som e form of self-treatment before attending; relatively few reported consulting a traditional healer. T he cost of treatment was a clear barrier to attendance for a num ber of respondents. Introdu ctionThe area of sexually transm itted diseases is one which has largely been neglected by psycho logists, with the exception of work on HIV/AIDS. Recently there has been a greater aw areness that, despite the availability of effective m edical treatm ent for m any of these diseases, ST D s continue to spread in the com m unity. O ne aspect of concern is the delay in seeking treatm ent for a sexually transm itted disease. Delays between th e onset of the disease and its effective treatm ent have tw o effects. The ® rst is to increase the risk of long-te rm dam age to the individual concerned; infertility am ongst wom en is one such problem . The other issue is th e continued spread of the disease in th e com m unity; untreated individuals put them selves and others at risk.The reasons for seeking m edical consultation and treatm ent are com plex. It is well know n that individuals will consult oth ers often before seeking general m edical advice (Scam bler & Scam bler, 1984). O ther factors which can in¯uence the decision to seek m edical opinion are the nature and severity of any sym ptom s and the construction of th ose sym ptom s in a cultural context. M acLachlan (1997) has written extensively concerning the cultural variations in illness representations, and other researchers have becom e particularly aw are of the in¯uence of lay representations on reactions to sym ptom s and illnesses (Petrie & W einman, 1997).

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“…Living in a patriarchal context where gender roles are clearly set and differentiated, and reproduction is highly valued, any symptom suggestive of reproductive malfunction or a sexually transmissible disease is detrimental to a woman's status, 29 quality of life, 22 and reputation in society. 20,37,38 Moreover, Patel et al and Jejeebhoy argued that marital conflicts and sexual violence might be a plausible explanation behind the association between mental distress and symptoms of RTIs. 29,30 In our study, decisionmaking power was significantly associated only with reporting of any RTI symptom.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections and Mental Distress among Women in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods of Beirut, Lebanon

Khawaja

Kaddour

Zurayk

et al. 2009

Journal of Women's Health

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Reactions to repeated STD infections: Psychosocial aspects and gender issues in Zimbabwe

Cited by 19 publications

References 12 publications

Marriage is not a safe place: Heterosexual marriage and HIV‐related vulnerability in Indonesia

Marriage is not a safe place: Heterosexual marriage and HIV‐related vulnerability in Indonesia

Why do people delay obtaining treatment for an STD? Perspectives from a developing country

Symptoms of Reproductive Tract Infections and Mental Distress among Women in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods of Beirut, Lebanon

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