FAMILY-PLANNING AND AIDS HIV INTERVENTION FROM A CROSS-CULTURAL-PERSPECTIVE - ENHANCING THE PHARMACISTS ROLE

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of pharmacy students in three different cultures regarding contraception counseling. Students from Malaysia, Thailand and the United States rated their comfort level using seven contraception counseling vignettes. Additionally, participants' religiosity, erotophobia, and professionalism were assessed. It was found that students in each of the three different cultures by gender had distinctly different responses to the vignettes, and had different measured levels of religiosity, professionalism, and erotophobia. Generally, U.S. students were more comfortable with all of the counseling situations, with women exhibiting the most comfort of all. As was hypothesized, the level of comfort, regardless of country, was predicted by the students' sexual attitudes, religiosity, and level of professionalism. From the statistical and graphical analysis of these results, it is suggested that students from different cultural backgrounds and by gender require different training emphases as they respond to these important and sensitive issues as professionals.