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Do Sexual Partners Talk to Each Other About HIV? Exploring Factors Associated with HIV-Related Partner Communication Among Men and Women in Tanzania

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Abstract

Communication between sexual partners is an important component of HIV prevention and occurs within a broader context of socio-culturally defined gender norms and dynamics. We analyzed cross-sectional data from a community-based random sample of men and women living in Kisarawe, Tanzania to understand factors related to partner communication about HIV. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, disaggregated by gender, included variables at the individual-, relational-, and community-levels. Individuals who knew their HIV-positive status prior to the study were excluded as the focus was on risk communication, not HIV status disclosure. Of 524 participants, 129 women (43.3%) and 96 men (42.5%) reported HIV-related communication with their most recent sexual partner. For women but not men, individual-level socioeconomic factors—including education, possession of a household radio, and employment—and relational-level factors—including partner age and type—were significantly associated with partner communication. At the community level, being socially engaged was positively correlated with partner communication across genders (aOR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.05–3.89, p = 0.03 for men and aOR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.03–2.95, p = 0.04 for women). For women, having less discriminatory attitudes toward people living with HIV and favorable perceived norms of HIV-related communication were significantly associated with partner communication. For men, agreeing that women should be allowed to work outside the home was significantly correlated with partner communication (aOR = 6.02, 95% CI 2.23–16.24, p < 0.001). Findings suggest a link between gender dynamics and partner communication, with individual and relational factors being associated with communication for women and community-level factors being associated with communication for both genders.

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Acknowledgements

The Triage Project was sponsored by the US National Institute of Mental Health, R01MH095869-01. We thank all Triage Project Staff, including Weston Ndomba, Rosemary Ntimizi, Wilson Shoo, and Isihaka Hamidu. We thank Dr. Basant Singh for providing data management and support. We also thank the communities that partnered with us in conducting this research and all study participants for their contributions. We thank the peer reviewers who reviewed this manuscript and provided invaluable feedback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 176 Croghan Spur Rd Suite 104, Charleston, SC, 29407, USA

    Virginia A. Fonner & Michael D. Sweat

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65293, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Jessie Mbwambo

  3. International Health Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Caitlin E. Kennedy

  4. Department of Sociology, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20016, USA

    Deanna Kerrigan

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  1. Virginia A. Fonner
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Fonner, V.A., Mbwambo, J., Kennedy, C.E. et al. Do Sexual Partners Talk to Each Other About HIV? Exploring Factors Associated with HIV-Related Partner Communication Among Men and Women in Tanzania. AIDS Behav 24, 891–902 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02550-4

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