"He can be good and still have AIDS". Peer education prevents AIDS in Thai women workers

Cash, K.

Planned Parenthood Challenges 1993(2): 34-36

1993


PMID: 12345370
Document Number: 331806
Focus group discussions and interviews with 240 single adolescent women who had migrated to northern Thailand to work in the garment industry revealed a high incidence of unprotected premarital sex and widespread misinformation about the risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Many believed that "good people" could not get AIDS and that condoms were men's concern, for use with prostitutes rather than girlfriends. In response, an educational program was designed for these young factory workers with the aim of providing accurate information and encouraging women to insist on protected sex. Peer education was selected as the strategy most likely to promote participatory learning, skill acquisition, and emotional support. Educational materials were interactive and based on problem-solving. A comic book featured an invisible flying condom that instructed young women how to negotiate condom use; a romantic novel about a young migrant factory worker addressed the false notion that "good men" cannot become infected with AIDS. The peer education program lasted for 3 months, after which participants received a certificate. Post-program evaluation indicated widespread acceptance of condoms as a contraceptive option for women and enhanced relational skills in negotiating for safe sex.

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