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Communication and Information About “Safer Sex”: Intervention Issues Within Communities of African Migrants Living in Poorer Neighborhoods in Portugal

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: The aims of this study are to determine the influence of migrant status on sexual behavior and communication about "safer sex" and to identify ethnic-specific prevention issues. Data were obtained from a special administration of the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey in a special sample of Portuguese schools located in low-income Lisbon neighborhoods with large proportions of African migrants.Survey participants included 919 6th, 8th and 10th graders (52.3% female), of whom 19.2% were migrant foreigners from African Portuguese-speaking countries, including Cape Verde (60.8%), Mozambique (1.6%), Angola (16.8%), S. Tomé (8%), and Guinea-Bissau (14.8%). Subsequently, four focus groups were held with adolescent who had participated in the survey (n = 45), three focus group with health and education professionals (n = 25), and one focus group with parents (n = 6).Compared with Portuguese adolescents, African migrant teens reported initial sexual intercourse at earlier ages, less frequent condom use, and less frequent and less comfortable communications with parents about sexual issues.Implications for selective prevention of STD are discussed and recommendations are made.

Source: Journal of Poverty

DOI: 10.1080/10875540802198628

Authors: Margarida Gaspar de Matos, Tania Gaspar, Bruce Simons-Morton, Marta Reis, Lúcia Ramiro

Institutions: Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Language: English

Topic: Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institutes of Health