Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The construction industry depends mainly on labour to translate other resources into a physical object (i.e. building, road, airport etc.). The industry’s workforce is always mobile and its activities are characterized by difficult working conditions. The mobile workforce of industry and their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS pandemic have been fairly researched. The objective of the study is to determine construction workers’ HIV/AIDS knowledge, risk sexual behaviours and their attitude towards HIV/AIDS.METHOD: The study adopted a cross sectional research design and purposive sampling method was used to select respondents. The researched area included sites in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Dodoma cities. A sample size involved 20 construction sites and 5 respondents from each site. A hundred questionnaires were distributed out of which 58 were fairly filled.The study adapted standard questionnaires developed by UNAIDS, Family Health International (FHI) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0.RESULTS: The results show that most construction workers have low HIV knowledge, low risk sexual behaviours and positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, indicators of low knowledge were evident in awareness of PMTCT services, HIV can be spread through breastfeeding, HIV can be spread through sharing injection and HIV can be spread through unsafe sex.CONCLUSION: In conclusion risk sexual behaviours are low, attitude towards HIV/AIDS is generally positive but HIV knowledge is low. However, there are alarming concerns in some indicators of both risk sexual behaviours and attitude noted in the study.
Highlights
The construction industry depends mainly on labour to translate other resources into a physical object
The results show that most construction workers have low HIV knowledge, low risk sexual behaviours and positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS
Indicators of low knowledge were evident in awareness of PMTCT services, HIV can be spread through breastfeeding, HIV can be spread through sharing injection and HIV can be spread through unsafe sex
Summary
The construction industry depends mainly on labour to translate other resources into a physical object (i.e. building, road, airport etc.). The UNAIDS Fact Sheet (2017) reports that globally, in 2016 there were 36.7 million people living with HIV, 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV and 1million people died from AIDS-related diseases. The UNAIDS Fact Sheet (2017) reports that in Eastern and Southern Africa there were 19.4 million people living with HIV, estimated 790 000 new HIV infections and 420 000 people died of AIDS-related diseases. According to the UNAIDS Fact Sheet (2017) new HIV infections among adults declined by an estimated of 11% from 2010 to 2016 and AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 48% since the peak in 2005 globally. In East and Southern Africa, new HIV infections declined by 29% between 2010 and 2016 and the number of AIDS-related deaths in the region fell by 42 % (ibid)
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