Abstract
Introduction: Though approximately 210, 000 Brazilian immigrants are living in Japan and an increasing number of Latin Americans have been reported to the National HIV/AIDS Surveillance Committee, few studies have been done nor has any HIV/AIDS prevention or care program targeting this population been developed to date. This paper describes the results of a baseline survey of a quasi-experimental intervention trial toward developing effective HIV/AIDS prevention programs among Brazilian immigrants in Japan.
Materials and Methods: Using a self-administered questionnaire, HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, HIV testing, and sexual behavior was surveyed among the immigrants in 1996. They were recruited consecutively at the Brazil Bank or Brazilian shops located in 4 separate areas where Brazilian immigrants are concentrated.HIV/AIDS-related knowledge was surveyed also among Japanese subjects randomly sampled for comparison. Response rates were 92.8% (n=451) and 66.6% (n=1, 391), respectively.
Results: Only 21% of the Brazilian respondents were aware of free and anonymous HIV testing at public health centers as opposed to >60% of the Japanese, suggesting that Brazilian immigrants were marginalized in terms of HIV-related information and services from mainstream Japanese society. Furthermore, less than half of them were aware of appropriate timing for HIV tests, HIV-STD synergism, and sexual transmission of chlamydia. Regarding HIV tests, 6.8% have been tested in Japan, and 36.8% of those who have not had an HIV test felt that they should be tested. Importantly, a great majority of the Brazilian immigrants fear that they would be fired or even deported if they were found to be HIV-positive, discouraging them from taking an HIV test. Behavioral risk was noted to be relatively high as 60% of the respondents indicated they have had casual sex and more than 30% of them reported that they never or rarely used a condom during casual sex.
Conclusion: Brazilian immigrants are potentially at high risk toward HIV infection due to a lack of access to HIV-related information and services in Japan and on account of sexual behavior.
