"But I know my man!" HIV/AIDS risk appraisals and heuristical reasoning patterns among childbearing women

This exploratory study examined HIV/AIDS risk appraisals, life-style choices, and heuristical reasoning patterns reported by 105 urban childbearing women. The availability heuristic was the strategy most frequently described by participants to distance themselves from the risks of having or getting HIV/AIDS within the social and communal context of their lives. The findings suggest that objective (provider) and subjective (client) interpretations of HIV/AIDS risks should be incorporated into pragmatic prevention programs initiated by nurses. The data further suggest that such urban childbearing women must be involved in ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention and early-intervention initiatives throughout their reproductive lives.