General population and HIV prevention: from risk to action

Abstract

Since knowledge about AIDS transmission now appears to be very good, many observers are surprised that more people do not practice behavior, like safer sex, designed to minimize risk of contracting the disease. Still, previous studies have not shown that there is a direct link between knowledge and behavior. New models, based on people's concrete experiences, are therefore needed. The goal of this qualitative research, based on 61 in-depth interviews conducted in France, is to describe how people understand the threat of AIDS and how they face the risk of transmission in their sex lives. In order to understand preventive actions, we must study how information is interpreted and how knowledge is integrated, so that people perceive general or personal risk. We must also specify the way in which people distinguish between aspects of risk perception and vulnerability; feelings of personal control, constructed on the basis of social experiences; characteristics of situations; and finally, the dynamics of action. The proposed risk management model accounts for these diverse factors in elucidating the great diversity of actions reported. This dynamic, non-linear model is designed to capture both the impact of perceptive and cognitive elements on action and vice versa.