Reference no: EM133364000
Questions:
On Dupas 2011 "Do Teenagers Respond to HIV Risk Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya"
In much of East and Southern Africa, cultural norms dictate that sexual relationships often carry financial expectations for transfers from men to women. This is not considered prostitution, but rather is a normal part of relationships. In addition to personal preferences and desire, women are choosing sexual partners based on size of potential transfer. Because HIV is also prevalent in these areas, perceived riskiness of partner is also a significant aspect of partner selection.
Against a backdrop of a national HIV prevention curriculum for teens that promoted abstinence until marriage, and provided information on the overall HIV prevalence in the population, a researcher conducted an experiment that provided adolescent girls (8th grade) with additional information. This included information on HIV prevalence disaggregated by gender and age group, as well as discussions about the risks of "sugar daddies," - adult male partners of teen girls. In particular, teen boys differ from adult men in that they have lower financial resources, but also lower HIV prevalence and higher willingness to use a condom. This sets up a tradeoff between risk and financial gain.
1. What special ethical issues are presented by research on HIV and sexual behavior?
2. The primary outcome of interest for this study was risky sexual behaviors such as unprotected sex and sex with partners from high HIV prevalence groups. What are the difficulties presented by collecting data on these outcomes?