Practices and attitudes toward condom use among a cohort of Hispanic migrant workers in South Florida

OBJECTIVE: To identify practices and perceptions toward condom use across gender. This work explores those differences among a sample of Hispanic migrant workers in South Florida. METHODS: A network-based sample of 278 Hispanic migrant workers was recruited from November 2008 to December 2009 from migrant communities in the Homestead/Florida City area in Miami-Dade County, Florida. After screening for eligibility, participants were administered a structured questionnaire using A-CASI that included basic sociodemographic information, alcohol and other drug use history, sexual behaviors, acculturation, and behavioral intentionality. Some of the results presented in this paper are based on a subsample of 174 study participants from the larger sample who reported being sexually active in the last 30 days prior to the baseline interview. This study was approved by the IRB of Florida International University. RESULTS: Our findings indicate several statistically significant differences across gender regarding number of sex partners, condom use, and attitudes towards condom use. Among the 174, participants 26.3% of men reported to have more than one sexual partner compared to 12.7% of women. The women featured more positive attitude toward condom use compared to men, 61.7% of women carry condoms with her compared to 38.3% of the men. Also 45.6% of women said that they would use condom in their next sexual intercourse, compared to 24.8% of the men. CONCLUSION: The data show differences across gender toward sexual practices and condom use. These differences need to be acknowledged to develop prevention intervention that tackles these specific needs for both genders.