Sexual and reproductive health as a way to promote equity: highlights from a study with African migrants in Portugal:

摘要

The aims of this study are to determine the influence of migrant status on communication about “safersex” and sexual behavior and to identify ethnic-specific prevention issues. Data were obtained from a specialadministration of the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in a sample of Portugueseschools located in low- income Lisbon neighborhoods with large proportions of African migrants. Surveyparticipants included 919 sixth, eighth, and tenth graders (52.3% female), of whom 19.2% were migrantforeigners from African, Portuguese- speaking countries. Subsequently, four focus groups were held withadolescents who had participated in the survey (n = 45), three focus groups with health and educationprofessionals (n = 25), and one focus group with parents (n = 6).Compared with Portuguese adolescents, African migrant teens reported initial sexual intercourse atearlier ages, less frequent condom use, and less frequent and less comfortable communications with parentsabout sexual issues. Implications for selective prevention of STDs are discussed.