Sexual risks and HIV protections among women in Prague

Background: The Czech Republic escaped early HIV transmission in the 1980's because of state socialism, travel restrictions, and proactive HIV protocols. At this time, the prevalence of HIV mirrors Western Europe of the past decade. However, there is little data on HIV-related risk behaviors, especially among young women. Methods: We explored a community-based subsample of female (n=124) respondents from a survey of individuals (n=377), aged 18 years and older who frequented social venues in Central Prague. Sexual identity, intimate partner encounters, and HIV risk prevention behaviors were queried. We conducted descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariate analysis. Results: The female sample ranged from 18 to 67 (mean 29 years); 25% self-identified as non-heterosexual (homosexual, bisexual, or transgender). Twenty percent reported consistent condom or barrier use. With casual male sex partners, 36% of respondents reported condom use and 20% used barriers use with same sex encounters. Half of the women reported having a primary relationship and reported talking about HIV status with their intimate partners. Also, knowledge and willingness to use of Pre-/post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV was reported by half the women. HIV testing by 32% of the sample was associated with younger age, education, and having sex with casual sex partners. Conclusion: The need to augment HIV risk awareness and the availability of pre-/post-exposure treatment options are important to continue low HIV incidence among the women of Prague.