PERCEIVED RISK OF HIV INFECTION AMONG PREGNANT TEENAGERS IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT OF BRAZIL

Abstract

This is a transversal study with the aim of analyzing the perception of risk of HIV infection among pregnant adolescents in the Federal District of Brazil. 336 pregnant adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 who received prenatal care from the public hospital system between April and November 2009 were interviewed. The study was approved by the ethics committee (Opinion No. 33/2009). The Pearson ?2 test was used in the statistical analysis. Most interviewed were married/stable union with sexual initiation average 14.9 years old, made use of condoms in the frst and last sexual union 64.0% and 14.9% respectively. Around 33.3% of the adolescents perceived the risk of HIV infection upon becoming pregnant with the highest perception of risk (p=0.014) among those who had had more than one sexual partner. Statistical differences were not observed with the variables: age, marital status, cohabitation, educational level, religion or frequency of condom use. In conclusion, the perception of risk among pregnant adolescents in the Federal District was low.