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Process Used to Negotiate Condom Use Among African-American Women: A Grounded Theory Study

Saturday, 29 October 2011

Teressa Hunter, RN, PhD
School of Nursing and Health Professions, Langston University, Langston, OK

Learning Objective 1: discuss how power differentials and gender ratio imbalance, risky sexual behaviors, social and cultural factors, and male and female condom use affect condom negotiation.

Learning Objective 2: discuss the dynamics of HIV transmission in African-American women and its significant to nursing practice, education, and research.

HIV continues to have stronghold on African-American women and the number of African-American women with HIV continues to escalate. Understanding the dynamics of HIV transmission among African-American women is significant to nursing practice, education, and research because of the care involved, the unpredictable progression, and the increases in the numbers of HIV cases impacting the healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to explore the process unmarried, heterosexual, African-American women between the ages 25-34 years use to negotiate condom use with their sexual partner. Empowering African-American women to be directly involved in the decision making of program designs can improve the quality of life and increase the life expectancy of these women. The knowledge, behavioral gap, and health disparities can only be narrowed and eliminated when emphasis is placed on the participants and their sexual decision making.  

Twelve African-American women were recruited from the Oklahoma City metropolitan area to participate in the study. Data analysis and constant comparison were used to identify the feelings and emotions and were identified as 1) communication skills 2) self-ownership, 3) unfamiliarity with female condoms, and 4) education about female condoms. The feelings and emotions can be used to predict, speculate, explain, and understand the reported behavior of the African-American women in negotiating condom use with their sexual partner. The substantive theory developed from this study is the Theory of Open Communication and Self-worth. This theory can be used as a guide for teaching African-American women how to negotiate condom use with their partner prior to sexual intercourse and can teach the women how to  1) be assertive and effective in the discussion process, 2) put themselves first in relationships, and 3) become more familiar with female condoms, which can empower the women.

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