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Cultural context and attitudes towards and practices of condom use: Findings from a study among Vietnamese Injecting Drug Users in Australia

Ho Thi Hien, Zarah Rahman, Jacqueline Rudolph, Lisa Maher

Abstract

Evidence suggests that culture influences health beliefs and behavior, including risk-taking behaviors. This study explores sexual attitudes and practices pertaining to condom use among a group of ethnic-Vietnamese injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia. Ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews (n=58) were conducted in South Western Sydney. Interviews were electronically recorded and transcribed verbatim. Open coding was used to classify data into themes, and data were examined for regularities and variations in relationships between and within themes. Results illustrated the relationships between traditional Vietnamese cultural beliefs (mainly rooted in the Triple Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) and participants’ beliefs and attitudes toward sexual relationships. The infrequent use of condoms with regular sexual partners and frequent use of condoms with casual partners were embedded in cultural factors such as trust and obligation, stoicism and self-control, belief in fate, and the desire for balance and harmony in body and in mind. These findings highlight the need to understand the cultural contexts of risk for sexual transmission of HIV, particularly in relation to condom use, in order to design and implement culturally appropriate and effective prevention interventions.

Keywords

Culture; Beliefs; Attitudes; Practices; Sexual Risk; HIV; Condom Use; Injection Drug Use

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