HIV Risk Behavior in Male and Female Russian Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic Patients

Russia is experiencing one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world. Russian sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic patients are at elevated risk for infection with HIV and other STDs due to unsafe sexual behaviors. Future risk reduction intervention efforts for this group must be grounded in a solid understanding of the factors associated with risky behaviors. We collected information about the sexual behaviors, substance use, protective strategies, and HIV-related attitudes of 400 high-risk men and women presenting at an STD clinic in a major Russian metropolis. Alcohol use in conjunction with sexual activity was common in this sample (85%). One-third of study participants had more than 1 partner in the past 3 months, and about half (48%) of the sample had previously been diagnosed with an STD. However, despite this evidence of high-risk behavior, most participants (67%) reported using condoms less than half the time. High-risk behavior was associated with substance use and lower perceived severity of AIDS. Self-protective strategies differed by gender: men reported higher condom use rates whereas women reported efforts to limit their number of sexual partners. This study has important implications for the development of culturally tailored interventions to help stem the spread of HIV in Russia.