From left to right, members of the researcher team of the University of Navarra Jokin de Irala, Cristina López del Burgo, Alfonso Osorio, Silvia Carlos, Mª Carmen Calatrava and Miguel Ruiz-Canela. PHOTO: Manuel Castells.

Researchers from department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Navarra have launched in Monkole (Congo) a project to prevent HIV infection in the African country. Their goal will study the knowledge, attitudes and risk behaviors involved in the spread of the disease among the people treated at the Monkole Hospital Center, located in the capital, Kinshasa.

According to lead researcher Dr. Silvia Carlos, HIV, like all other sexually transmitted infections, is a pressing public health problem: "In 2007, around 33 million people were living with the disease. More than 60% were in sub-Saharan Africa. And we know that the risk of spread derives in large part from lifestyles that favor risky sexual behavior, so we will try to act at the root of the problem".

Likewise, the research will delve into false conceptions or attitudes that can influence the spread of the disease. "Risk behaviors do not derive only from the will of the subject, but also from the cultural, family, educational or media context. Therefore, we propose to analyze the shortcomings of HIV prevention campaigns that sometimes reduce the perception of risk," adds the expert.

The team will conduct an age- and sex-matched case-control study in a representative sample of the African capital, among people aged 15 to 49. "We will conduct HIV diagnostics and pass questionnaires that we will then analyze with SPSS statistical software. A multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis will determine those variables associated with a higher risk of contracting HIV," explains Silvia Carlos.

Team multidisciplinary for a multifaceted problem
On the other hand, the doctor of the School of Medicine of the University of Navarra emphasizes that the study will allow the detection of possible errors to improve preventive measures not only against HIV, but also against many other sexually transmitted infections. "According to recent data ," the researcher recalls, "ignorance of risk factors and behaviors is common among the population of many African countries. In Congo, in particular, only 26% of young people between 15 and 24 years of age correctly identified how to prevent transmission, while 38% of young people admit to having had sexual relations before the age of 15".

The project, which will be developed between 2010 and 2012 with the support of Caja Navarra's "Tú eliges, tú decides" program, includes the participation of doctors Jokin de Irala, Cristina López del Burgo; doctors in Pharmacy Silvia Carlos and Miguel Ruiz-Canela; Alfonso Osorio, doctor in Philosophy y Letras, and Mª Carmen Calatrava, psychopedagogue; as well as researchers from the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid and the Monkole Hospital Center itself.

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