The Role of Relationship Types on Condom Use among Urban Men with Concurrent Partners in Ghana & Tanzania

Multiple concurrent partnerships are hypothesized to be important drivers of HIV transmission. Despite the demonstrated importance of relationship type (i.e., wife, girlfriend, casual partner, sex worker) on condom use, research on concurrency has not examined how different combinations of relationship types might affect condom use. 

We address this gap, using survey data from a sample of men from Ghana (GH: n = 807) and Tanzania (TZ: n = 800) who have at least three sexual partners in the past three months. We found that approximately two-thirds of men's reported relationships were classified as a girlfriend. 

Men were more likely to use a condom with a girlfriend if their other partner was a wife compared to if their other partner was a sex worker (GH: OR 3.10, 95% CI, 1.40, 6.86; TZ: OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.35, 4.06). 

These findings underscore the importance of considering relationship type when designing HIV prevention strategies in these settings.

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By:   Fleming PJ1, Mulawa M, Burke H, Shattuck D, Mndeme E, Attafuah J, Mbwambo J, Guest G.

• 1 FHI 360 , Durham , NC , USA. 

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