Umbumbulu taxi drivers' attitudes concerning condom use and dual contraceptive use by their female partners.

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa remains most severely affected by HIV/AIDS, with nearly one in every 20 adults living with HIV and accounting for 71% of people living with the disease worldwide However, according to UNAIDS at least 86% of people living with HIV in the Sub-Saharan know their status. And in the past three years alone, new HIV infections fell by 13%. (UNAIDS, 2014; WHO, 2012). An abiding concern in the HIV and AIDS narrative has been the relative absence of men in interventions and responses to the disease. This study seeks, among other things, to unearth whether patriarchy or hegemonic masculinity influences dual contraceptive use. While there is a wealth of information around condom use and the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions that prevail thereof with women, little is known about the same from a male perspective. This study therefore explores the attitudes of taxi drivers who in male circles are considered the ‘other’, and by academics as risk populations. The conceptual bases of this study are the Social Ecology Model and the Health Belief Model. The study reveals that despite knowledge of STIs, HIV and AIDS transmission, many individuals do not feel personally vulnerable to contracting and transmitting a disease to their sexual partners. Findings of this study highlight the need for research to be conducted with the taxi drivers’ female partners on the use of dual contraceptive methods.