HIV COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HUSBANDS AND WIVES: EFFECTS ON HUSBAND HIV TESTING IN NORTHERN

Abstract. In northern Thailand, where substantial male-to-female transmission of HIV has oc-curred in stable partnerships, the relationships between counseling, communication, and HIV-preventive behaviors in married couples have not been well studied. In a study of HIV inci-dence among women in northern Thailand, each participant was advised to learn her husband’s HIV-infection status and was asked to bring him for an interview at the final 12-month follow-up visit. Of the 337 men interviewed, 58 % reported having ever had an HIV test. More men reported testing following their wives ’ enrollment: 12 % in the year prior to enrollment vs 22% during the 1-year study (p < 0.001). In the univariate analysis, men’s HIV testing during the 6 months before being interviewed was associated with communication about HIV testing with their wife and extra marital sex with non-FSW while married. Testing following their wife’s re-quest was the most common reason reported. Agreement between husband’s and wife’s re-ports was poor for most issues, such as whether HIV-related communication had occurred, but agreement as to whether the husband had ever been tested for HIV was relatively high (kappa = 0.62). However, in the logistic regression analysis, only sex with non-FSW while married remained associated with HIV testing (p = 0.02). The results suggest a relationshi