Background: Cau Giay is a district within Hanoi city, where diverse people live. Motorbike Taxi Drivers (MTDs) are at high-risk of HIV infection. Objectives: To study the knowledge, attitude and HIV transmission behaviors among MTDs in Cau Giay district. Subjects and method: A cross-sectional study was carried out between March and October 2007 on 250 MTDs who worked at Cau Giay district. Results and conclusions:30.4% MTDs perceived that HIV could not be transmitted to others via sharing nail clippers or scissors with HIV infected people, 42% believed HIV can transmit via mosquito bites, 72% thought the rate of the HIV transmission from mother to child was 100%, 40% were aware that HIV could be recognized from people's appearance. Only 26.5% of the respondents were aware of the 3 main effects of condom use (including prevention from pregnancy, STls and HIV). 83.2% considered HIV/AIDS infected people as social evils such as injecting drug users, Commercial Sex Workers (CSWs). 23.2% MTDs showed are agreeable when being asked to look for CSWs by customers. 12% MTDs agreed to seek out drugs when the customers requested. The survey also reveals that there were 49.2% of MTDs having sex with CSWs within the last 6 months, of which, 58.2% did not regularly practice safe sex with CSWs. Some risk factors included low level of education, time of being MTD >3 years, low income (less than 2,000,000 VND a month), less frequent appraisal books and newspapers. MTDs that were ready to look for CSWs and drugs via customers\u2019 requests also had high risk of using drugs as well as unsafe sex.
HIV transmission knowledge ; HIV transmission attitude ; HIV transmission behavior ; motorbike taxi driver

This paper reports on women's understanding of diseases believed to be sexually transmitted in the Asaro Valley of the Eastern Highlands Province. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) seemed to be a new category of disease as there were no local language terms for them. Women did not associate STDs with infertility. Although some symptoms were recognized and known to be sexually transmitted, STDs sometimes went untreated for years. STDs were thought of as milder than AIDS because they could be treated. Those informants who had good knowledge of AIDS claimed to have known an AIDS patient. It was interesting that those who knew an AIDS patient reported a change in sexual behaviour among people who saw the deteriorating state of their relative who was dying of AIDS. PIP: Women's perception of STDs in the Asaro Valley of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea was studied along with the local language terms for reproductive tract infections. Considering that there are no known specific local language terms for diseases that are sexually transmitted, women tend to view STDs as a new category of disease. The study emphasizes the women's understanding of the risk factors, as well as signs and symptoms, causes and measures taken, behavior towards treatment, and suggestions concerning treatment and protection. Interviews were conducted with 30 women aged 17-50 years. 14 of those participated in the clinical side of a community- based STD study, while the rest provided information independently. Particular emphasis was given to sources of information on STDs, understanding of risk factors, signs and symptoms, causes and measures taken, attitude towards treatment, and suggestions for treatment and protection. Since the local language does not have a term to refer to any diseases thought to be passed on through sexual intercourse, three terms were used: "sik nogut" (bad sickness), gonorrhea, and syphilis; additionally, signs and symptoms were described rather than named. It was found that rumors and educated relatives were the primary sources of information about "sik nogut." One of the major findings was that women did not link infertility with STDs, even if symptoms were felt in and around the reproductive tract. The paper concludes that sexual intercourse, as identified by women, is the dominant mode of disease transmission in the Valley. Condoms are becoming acceptable but are not used because of their unavailability. An interesting finding in this study is the reported change in sexual behavior among people who have seen their relatives die of AIDS.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - ethnology ; Disease Transmission, Infectious - prevention & ; control ; Educational Status ; HIV Infections - transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical - prevention & ; control

BACKGROUNDHuman immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS)-related stigma is an obstacle to the implementation of treatment, care, and support programs for people living with HIV/AIDS. This study explored the association of the HIV knowledge with the attitudes toward HIV/AIDS.

METHODSA cross-sectional survey was conducted in HIV epidemic rural areas with 5355 participants. Their knowledge and attitudes about HIV/AIDS were assessed, and the associations of HIV transmission and non-transmission knowledge with negative attitudes towards the HIV/AIDS were analyzed.

RESULTSNegative attitudes were significantly correlated with the HIV non-transmission knowledge and the correlation was higher than that with HIV transmission knowledge among participants who were male, 20 years old and migrant workers, students and respondents of and above junior high school. However, among those who were female, age 30 and older, illiterate with primary school education, negative attitudes were significantly associated with HIV non-transmission knowledge and the association was lower than that with HIV transmission knowledge.

CONCLUSIONSHIV transmission knowledge and non-transmission knowledge have different influences on negative attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among different demographic subgroups.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; transmission ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; HIV Infections ; transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

China ; HIV Infections ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Personnel ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional ; prevention & control ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control

PIP: There are three aspects of caring for HIV-infected persons that nurses should consider. The first involves knowledge of the principal routes of transmission of the virus and the possible risk factors to nurses. Among the principal routes of transmission, nurses are most susceptible to exposure to blood or other body fluids carrying HIV. Such exposure may occur during patient care through accidental inoculation (e.g. needlestick injury), through contact with broken skin, or through splashing into the conjunctiva or mucous membranes. These potential risks can be reduced by adhering to simple precautions and by using the Universal Precautions for all communicable diseases; these include practicing good basic hygiene (especially handwashing); covering cuts and abrasions with an impermeable dressing; practicing care in handling sharp objects; and disposing safely of clinical and other contaminated waste. The second area of concern is the provision of emotional care to HIV-diagnosed patients. Compassion and empathy are essential in the daily nursing care of a person with HIV/AIDS. Thus, nurses must take time to talk to their patients and their families about how they are coping with the disease, as this may help the patients identify specific problems and allow them to externalize them. Finally, an integral part of the nurse's role is providing education and information to patients, to their families, and to the community as a whole. This part can be served either informally through answering questions and displaying posters and leaflets around the hospital or through more formal programs held in the hospital or community.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - nursing ; Education, Nursing, Graduate ; HIV Infections - transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional - prevention & ; control

OBJECTIVETo identify the status and risk factors of transmission in couples which males was HIV-positive in Zhejiang province.

METHODSA cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-serodiscordant couple (male positive) and HIV-seroconcordant couple (male first infected). A self-designed questionnaire was complimented containing basic information, the awareness of infection and HIV-testing, sexual relationship power, self-efficacy of condom use, sex. The univariated and multivariate logistic regression methods were used to analyze the influence factors.

RESULTSA total of 263 couples were enrolled in this study, including 210 HIV HIV-serodiscordant couples and 53 HIV-seroconcordant couples. HIV-positive males aged 30-50 accounted for 57.8% (152 cases) and females under junior high school accounted for 79.1% (208 cases). HIV/AIDS accounted for 41.1% (217 cases). The proportion of man who were diagnosed as HIV, MSM and ever heard HIV were 61.9% (130 cases), 38.3% (80 cases) and 81.9% (172 cases), which were higher than that in HIV positive 47.2% (25 cases), 7.5% (4 cases), 64.2% (34 cases); χ(2)=3.80, 18.33, 7.86;P=0.051, 0.001, 0.005. The results revealed that AIDS patients had high risk to infect their spouse than HIV patients (OR=2.93, 95% CI: 1.05-8.21). Male patients who had ever heard " HIV" before were less likely pass virus to their wives than those who had never heard " HIV" (OR=0.13, 95% CI: 0.04-0.41). Compared with heterosexuality man, homosexuality man' wives had high risk to get virus from their husbands (OR=0.14, 95% CI: 0.03-0.73). Female infected with STIs was the independent factors for HIV infection (OR=4.86, 95% CI: 1.23-19.11).

CONCLUSIONAmong the couples of male HIV-positive in Zhejiang Province, the risk of spouses infected with HIV virus has relationship with male disease progression, sexual orientation and awareness of AIDS knowledge. For females who infected with sexual diseases in last 6 months might be infected by their spouses.

Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; HIV Antibodies ; blood ; HIV Infections ; transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Sexual Behavior ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; transmission ; Spouses

OBJECTIVE: To describe the attitude of elementary and middle school students and their parents toward children affected by HIV/AIDS and to analyze the determinants of such attitude. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with the stratified cluster sampling method was conducted to interview elementary and middle school students and their parents, and questionnaires were distributed to collect information about the basic characteristics, HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitude toward children affected by HIV/AIDS. Student's t-test, ANOVA and multilevel model were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 732 students and their parents finished the questionnaires. The students' and parents' awareness rates were 77.56% (95% CI: 63.08% - 92.05%)and 81.76% (95% CI: 72.33% - 91.20%), respectively. Questions with the lowest proportion of positive attitude included separating the children affected by HIV/AIDS and not studying with those children in the same class. Gender (b =-1.15, P =0.016) and knowledge (b =1.26, P <0.001) of students, as well as attitude (b =0.40, P <0.001) of parents were associated with the students' attitude, while parents' knowledge (b =0.93, P <0.001) was associated with parents' attitude. CONCLUSION Discrimination towards children affected by HIV/AIDS exists among students and their parents. HIV/AIDS knowledge education helps to improve the students' and parents' caring and supporting attitude toward children affected by HIV/AIDS.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; psychology ; transmission ; Adolescent ; Child ; China ; Female ; HIV Infections ; psychology ; transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Parents ; psychology ; Sampling Studies ; Social Environment ; Students ; psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires

We reviewed the current human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education programmes in Singapore, discussed the challenges faced and proposed prevention education interventions for the future. Education programmes on HIV prevention have shown some success as seen by reduced visits to sex workers among the general adult population and a marked increase in condom use among brothel-based sex workers. However, we still face many challenges such as low awareness of HIV preventive strategies and high prevalence of HIV stigma in the general population. Voluntary HIV testing and condom use remain low among the priority groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual men who buy sex. Casual sex has increased markedly from 1.1% in 1989 to 17.4% in 2007 among heterosexuals in Singapore, with the majority (84%) practising unprotected sex. Sex workers have moved from brothels to entertainment venues where sex work is mostly hidden with lack of access to sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/ HIV prevention education and treatment programmes. Education programmes promoting early voluntary testing is hampered because of poor access, high cost and stigma towards people living with HIV. It remains a challenge to promote abstinence and consistent condom use in casual and steady sexual relationships among heterosexuals and MSM. New ways to promote condom use by using a positive appeal about its pleasure enhancing effects rather than the traditional disease-oriented approach should be explored. Education programmes promoting early voluntary testing and acceptance of HIV-infected persons should be scaled up and integrated into the general preventive health services.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; HIV Infections ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Health Education ; methods ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Promotion ; Homosexuality, Male ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Safe Sex ; Sex Work ; Sex Workers ; Singapore ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the current cognition of occupational exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the personal occupational protection awareness in healthcare workers in Liuzhou, China.

METHODSA total of 270 healthcare workers were selected from 10 hospitals in Liuzhou by stratified random sampling for a cross-sectional study. And a self-administered questionnaire of occupational exposure to HIV was designed to conduct a survey. The descriptive analysis of data was carried out by Excel. And a logistic regression analysis was done to analyze the effects of different factors on healthcare workers' cognition of occupational exposure to HIV using the statistical analysis software SPSS 19.0.

RESULTSA total of 260 usable questionnaires (96.3%) were returned. Among them, 220 healthcare workers (84.6%) had received the trainings on occupational exposure to HIV; 223 healthcare wofkers (85.8%) were aware of the rules and regulations on prevention of occupational exposure to HIV and the operation procedures in their hospitals. The healthcare workers who had not received the trainings or had not known the rules and regulations and the operation procedures were mainly from primary or secondary hospitals. A total of 106 healthcare workers (40.8%) had directly contacted patients' blood or body fluids; 154 healthcare workers (59.2%) were injured by sharp instruments, and most were hollow needle stick injuries (98/154, 63.6%). A total of 168 healthcare workers (68.08%) had better cognitive awareness of occupational exposure to HIV, and 76 healthcare workers (29.2%) had moderate cognitive awareness. Some healthcare workers had poor knowledge in the common sense of AIDS/HIV and occupational exposure to HIV, the personal protection awareness of occupational exposure, or the disposal measures after occupational exposure. The univariate analysis using chi-square test showed that occupation and professional title were significantly correlated with the cognition (P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the doctors (OR3.8; P<0.05), nurses (OR3.04, P<0.05), and laboratory technicians (OR=9.51, P<0.05) had better awareness compared with the others. The healthcare workers with a primary or lower professional title had poorer awareness compared with the healthcare workers with a higher professional title (OR=0.47, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONHealthcare workers have the risk of occupational exposure to HIT. They do not have comprehensive and systematic knowledge related to occupational exposure to HIV, and they have a high demand for training.

Awareness ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; HIV Infections ; prevention & control ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional ; prevention & control ; Laboratory Personnel ; Needlestick Injuries ; Nurses ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control ; Physicians ; Risk ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of sexual risk behaviors and related factors of drug users in two enforced detoxification institutions in Changsha, China. METHODS: A total of 309 drug users from two compulsory detoxifications in Hunan Province were investigated using self-designed questionnaire, which included background information, drug use and sexual risk behaviors, STD/HIV related knowledge and permissiveness of sexual behaviors. RESULTS: Among 309 drug users, 279 (90.3%) had regular sexual relationships, and 85 (27.5%) of them had more than 1 regular partner. The prevalence of casual sexual behaviors, commercial sexual behaviors and multi-partner sexual behaviors was 38.2% (118/309), 25.9% (80/309), and 62.8% (194/309), respectively. And 74 (23.9%) had sex with both commercial and noncommercial partners. The major factors related to sexual risk behaviors were gender, marital status, the age of sexual debut, drug injection, the history of STD and sexual permissiveness. CONCLUSION Sexually risk behaviors are relatively common in drug users. To modify the sexual risk behaviors in this group is very important to prevent and control HIV transmission to general population.
Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Drug Users ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; HIV Infections ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk-Taking ; Sexual Partners ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Unsafe Sex ; statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult