[Evaluation of AIDS-related knowledge and behavior among seasonal workers in Switzerland]

Although an increasing number of AIDS prevention programmes are addressing migrants and ethnic minorities, few are either solidly research-based or adequately evaluated. Reported on here is a baseline evaluation of a marginal foreign population, Spanish and Portuguese seasonal workers in Switzerland. AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours were assessed with both qualitative and quantitative methods during the winter of 1989-1990. The seasonal workers studied had been reached by prevention programmes both in the host country and in the country of origin, and knowledge was better than expected. Zones of ambiguity, such as confusion between AIDS and treatable STDs, persist however. Legal restrictions which prohibit family reunification affect sexual behavior: respondents report both more abstinence and more transitory sexual relations than the comparison Swiss population. Only about one in five report always using condoms during transitory relations. Qualitative material is used to suggest a relation between attitudes and protective behaviors. HIV/AIDS prevention programmes for Spanish and Portuguese populations in Switzerland are being established on the basis of the research findings.