Attitudes toward condom use and AIDS among patients from an urban family practice center

As part of an effort to better educate patients about using condoms, a survey was done to assess the sexual practices, attitudes toward acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and condom use by patients who visit an urban family practice center. A self-administered questionnaire was given to 126 patients of whom the majority were black and single. Seventeen percent indicated they had sex with more than one person in the 3 months before the survey. Within the last 5 years, 10% had sex with an intravenous drug abuser, and 6% with someone of the same sex. Fifty percent believed that condoms decrease sexual pleasure for men and 31% thought condoms made sex inconvenient. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed believed that a man's penis may be too large for a condom and 18% believed that uncircumcised men could not use condoms. Forty-five percent believed they should be screened for human immune deficiency virus exposure. The results highlight attitudes and beliefs that may function as barriers to condom use and should be addressed when encouraging condom use with this population.