[Cultural barriers in health/medical services and the efforts to lower them].

Cultural competence and cultural adaptation are currently considered important components of the quality of health/ medical services in multi-cultural societies. These include not only treatment of disease, but also primary, secondary and tertiary prevention by professionals, as well as health promotion and management by the population. Migrant populations who are in the processes of transition and acculturation are in much stronger need for cultural specific communication and adaptation.

Diminishing gender differences in condom use among a national sample of young Israeli men and women between 1993 and 2005.

Background: Studies related to condom use among young adults consistently point to substantial gender disparities, although the use has generally increased. This study examined trends in condom use between 1993 and 2005 among 13,988 Israelis aged 18-25 years and the associated sociodemographic factors.

Methods: An HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice survey was self-administered to dischargees from Israel's compulsory military service.

Behavioral surveillance of knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission and perceived need for additional knowledge in a national sample of young israeli men and women between 1993 and 2005.

The study examines trends in knowledge about HIV/AIDS prevention, perceived need for more information, and knowledge sources among 20,619 Israeli army releasees between 1993 and 2005. HIV/AIDS knowledge was strongly associated with education, lower religiosity and receiving information via the media in both genders, changing non-linearly over time. Need for more information was associated with low knowledge level among men (OR= 2.

A socio-ecological analysis of Ethiopian immigrants' interactions with the Israeli healthcare system and its policy and service implications.

Objective: Despite receiving full medical care and many social services, many Ethiopian immigrants in Israel feel frustrated, and even alienated, by the care they receive. This study uses a qualitative approach to explore the obstacles Ethiopian immigrants face regarding effective health seeking behavior and optimal interactions with healthcare providers in Israel.

Design: We gained a three-cornered perspective by conducting semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers, immigrants, and interpreters who mediate between the two.

Sexual milestones and factors associated with coitus initiation among Israeli high school students.

In view of the developmental approach to sexual behavior, this article presents the stages of sexual behavior leading to coitus in four grades of high school students in Israel and the sociodemographic factors associated with initiating coitus. Analyses were based on data from the first national study dealing comprehensively with sexuality in 30 years. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by a random sample of 4,609 students of the General Educational (secular) system that included 68% of the Hebrew-speaking sector or 55% of all students in Israel.

Migration and HIV prevention programmes: linking structural factors, culture, and individual behaviour--an Israeli experience.

Migration is one of the structural factors associated with HIV infections, but the dynamic and complex role of migrant situations as determinants of HIV-related vulnerability is still a major issue for social science research. Moreover, interventions to address the specific structural and contextual factors inherent in this association are limited and many do not take into account the cultural components. This paper presents a multi-level framework for analysis of the links between migration and HIV.

A model-based evaluation of a cultural mediator outreach program for HIV+ Ethiopian immigrants in Israel.

This article presents a model-based evaluation of a program designed to reduce HIV transmission from HIV-infected Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. Rather than rely on self-reported variables such as condom use, this study's approach focuses on pregnancy rate reduction, estimated from administrative periodic reporting data, as a measure of unprotected sexual exposure. The models show that among both HIV+ women and the female sex partners of HIV+ men, the ongoing pregnancy rates estimated during the intervention were significantly lower than the estimated baseline pregnancy rates, suggesting reductions in unprotected sexual exposures among those participating in the program.