Male Concerns & Preventions of HIV/STDs in India

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请寻求解决 使男性参与生殖健康教育、性健康教育和性健康教育的困难问题 减少风险和早期治疗艾滋病毒/性传播疾病， 艾滋病毒/性传播疾病发病率正在急剧上升的国家。我们建议 制定、测试、实施和评估一项干预措施， 文化上定义的男性性健康关注的是男子气概，活力， 性能力和生育能力。印度的大多数男人都认为 性问题，包括与性传播疾病相对应的症状， 传统的担忧。此外，男性的性健康问题与以下因素有关： 性病的症状和危险的生活方式然而，公共卫生服务提供者 对这些问题不重视和缺乏尊重，使男子避免 对抗疗法服务和寻求治疗的性健康问题，主要是从 不合格的从业人员。印度的任何生殖健康服务机构， 在男性中引入性病/艾滋病毒的早期识别，并增加安全性行为 实践必须从解决这些男性性健康问题开始。 这个项目试图检验传统男性关注的命题 预测更高的艾滋病毒/性病发病率;确定干预措施的程度 基于文化的性健康问题可以吸引男性进入艾滋病毒/性病 教育和减少风险，并有效促进积极的社会， 心理和健康结果，包括降低风险和发病率 艾滋病毒/性传播疾病;并测试由以下方面实施的干预措施的不同影响： 对抗疗法与传统的性医生这项工作将在 在孟买东北部的三个大型城市贫民窟社区， 马哈拉施特拉邦，印度艾滋病毒/艾滋病中心。这个项目是一个 康涅狄格大学医学院的研究人员合作， 医学和社区研究所在美国和 印度孟买国际人口科学研究所。的 项目将在预测试中使用定性和定量方法， 后测对照组设计，以检查对社区和患者的影响 程度.这项研究的意义在于将研究人员和 干预者应对开发利用方法的挑战 减少艾滋病毒/性传播疾病风险和发展科学和 政策成果，这可以为在国家一级和 国际一级。

DESCRIPTION (Provided by applicant): This application seeks to address the difficult problem of engaging males in reproductive health education, sexual risk reduction, and early treatment of HIV/STD in urban communities in India, a country where HIV/STD rates are increasing at a dramatic rate. We propose to develop, test, implement and evaluate an intervention that is centered on culturally defined male sexual health concerns about masculinity, vitality, sexual performance and fertility. A majority of men in India define their sexual problems, including symptoms that correspond to STDS, in these traditional concerns. Furthermore, men's sexual health concerns are linked to symptoms of STDs and risky lifestyle. However, public health providers' inattention to and lack of respect for these problems cause men to avoid allopathic services and seek treatment for sexual health problems mostly from unqualified practitioners. Any reproductive health service in India that hopes to introduce early identification of STDs/HIV in men and to increase safer sex practices must start by addressing these male sexual health concerns. This project seeks to test the propositions that traditional male concerns predict higher rates of HIV/STD; determine the degree to which an intervention based on culturally based sexual health concerns can attract men into HIV/STD education and risk reduction and is effective for promoting positive social, psychological and health outcomes, including reduced risk and incidence of HIV/STDs; and test the differential impact of the intervention implemented by allopathic versus traditional sex doctors. This work will be carried out in three large urban slum communities in the northeastern part of Mumbai in the State of Maharasthra, the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in India. This project is a collaboration of researchers at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the Institute for Community Research in the United States and the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai (Bombay), India. The project will use both qualitative and quantitative methods in a pre-test, post-test control group design to examine the impact at community and patient levels. The study's significance lies in bringing together researchers and interventionists to address the challenge of developing methods for utilizing cultural factors in HIV/STD risk reduction and in developing the scientific and policy results, which can provide the basis for scaling up at the national and international level.