Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and practices differences regarding HIV in populations living along the Maroni river: particularities of operational interest for Amerindian and Maroon populations

Astrid van Melle (1) , Marie-Claire Parriault (1) , Célia Basurko (1) , Anne Jolivet (2) , Claude Flamand (3) , Perrine Pigeon (1) , Johanna Caudal (1) , Nathalie Lydié (4) , Sandrine Halfen (5) , Marie-Thérèse Goerger-Sow (6) , Mathieu Nacher (1)

1 CIC - Antilles Guyane - Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane
2 Centre Hospitalier de l'Ouest Guyanais Franck Joly [Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Guyane Française]
3 Cellule de l'InVS en Région Antilles Guyane
4 Institut National de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé, Paris
5 CHU Pitié-Salpêtrière [AP-HP]
6 COREVIH - Coordination Régionale de la lutte contre le Virus de L'Immunodéficience Humaine [Guadeloupe]

The Maroni basin, an isolated region delineating the border between Suriname and French Guiana has been affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic 10 years after coastal French Guiana. However, the rise in HIV prevalence was sharp, exceeding 1% within 10 years. The aim of the present study is to compare, using the first quantitative data from the general population in remote villages, the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding HIV between Maroon and Amerindian populations, the two most frequent populations living along the Maroni. Data were collected in 2012 using a structured questionnaire among a random sample of 896 individuals residing in the remote villages on the Maroni river. Proportions were compared between the Maroni and the coastal general population, and between Maroon and Amerindian populations. The present study shows significant differences between territories and between communities living on the Maroni river: the multiple sexual partnerships, more common among population living on the Maroni river, were more frequently reported in Maroons than in Amerindians. Condom use was more frequently reported among men on the Maroni river than on the coast, but these findings were reversed for women. Moreover, among people living on the Maroni river, condom use was more frequently reported among Maroons than among Amerindians. Regarding genital factors that may affect transmission, penile implant seemed to have no ethnic boundaries, steam baths seemed specific to Maroon women. The present results should help to improve community-based specific interventions.

Mots clés: attitudes; HIV; knowledge; practices astridvan-melle@ch-cayennefr; behaviors; Amerindian and descendants of Maroons populations; Maroni river; French Guiana

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

Astrid van Melle, Marie-Claire Parriault, Célia Basurko, Anne Jolivet, Claude Flamand, et al.. Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and practices differences regarding HIV in populations living along the Maroni river: particularities of operational interest for Amerindian and Maroon populations. AIDS Care, 2015, 27 (9), pp.1112-1117. ⟨10.1080/09540121.2015.1032203⟩. ⟨hal-01260915⟩