Risk behavior on HIV transmission in independent elderly people

Abstract

Introduction: The advances of modern society have led to changes in the lives of the elderly population, stimulating them to live in groups, in addition to the family, making aging more active in physical, emotional and social aspects. In a new perspective on life, the elderly person turns to the perception of sexuality anchored in their experiences, prolonging sexual activity and thus including themselves as part of a group vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases. Objective:The objective was to know the risk behavior of independent elderly people in STD/HIV/AIDS prevention. Method:Exploratory study with quantitative data approach. Sample was composed of 24 independent elderly people without diagnosis. An elaborate semi-structured interview script was used. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, using chi-square and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results:We found 87% female, age group between 60-69 years (62%) and marital status widow (43%). Of the sample, 87% reported knowing the means of transmission of the virus, 79% reported not using condoms and all had some sexual intercourse without the use of condoms. The analysis between the dependent variable "knows how to transmit HIV" and independent "condom use" showed statistical significance (p = 0.014).