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Advancing HIV Preventive Health Care for Young People: The Case of Jordan
Abstract
What resources are available to young people to prevent the spread of HIV? How can we go about developing culturally appropriate reproductive health care materials and services for young people across the MENA region? The discussion of sexual behavior, even within a medical context, is one of the biggest taboos in the MENA region, which makes the prevention of a sexually transmitted infection like HIV extremely difficult to monitor and treat. There are several cultural issues impeding young people’s education about safe sex, and it is nearly impossible to provide them with the tools to practice it. The prevailing cultural belief in the region is that discussion about reproductive health and sexual habits will lead to an increase in premarital sex, which is forbidden in Islam. The particular cultural emphasis on young women’s innocence and virginity makes seeking reproductive health treatment as an unmarried woman even more problematic. Due to this cultural sensitivity, providing reproductive health services for unmarried youth is a relatively new concept and has not reached its full potential. Jordan represents one of the few countries in the MENA region that has made significant efforts to protect the youth population from the spread of disease. While Jordan is considered to have a low prevalence of HIV, this incidence is on the rise and little research has been done to evaluate the intervention and prevention approaches in place in the country. The methodology for this project will include elite and expert semi-structured interviews with health care workers and administrators at reproductive health clinics, both private and associated with the Ministry of Health, in Jordan in order to survey which strategies have been successful in serving young people’s reproductive health needs, what services and educational materials are available, and how knowledgeable young people appear to be about HIV prevention. Additionally, leading scholars on HIV prevention and youth sexuality in the region will be interviewed concerning the cultural challenges of studying and monitoring the spread of HIV and protecting unmarried youth populations.
Discipline
Medicine/Health
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Jordan
Sub Area
None