Risk behaviors among newly reported Burmese HIV infection in Dehong, Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefectures of Yunnan province, 2015

Abstract

Objective: To study the AIDS-related socio-demographic characteristics and high risk behaviors of Burmese HIV-infected individuals, in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province. Methods: A cross-sectional study with questionnaire interview, was conducted. Results: Features of the 489 HIV-infected individuals appearfed as: 367(75.1%) males, 407(83.2%) illiterate or with primary education, 371(75.9%) from Kachin State or Shan State, 306(62.6%) visited Dehong twice or more per year, 238(48.7%) entered Dehong illegally, 339(69.3%) came to the city looking for jobs or working on cargo transportation, 309(63.2%) of them living in working place/rented house/own house, and 313(64.0%) with the length of stay shorter than six months. Only 36(7.4%) of the interviewees were aware of their HIV sero-positive status, with 23.3% of them (113/485) reported having had unprotected sex experiences in Dehong. Results from the multivariate logistic regression model analysis showed that HIV-infected individuals with the following characteristics: having spouses/regular sexual partners (OR=12.98, 95%CI: 6.53-25.83, P<0.001), living in working place (OR=2.88, 95% CI: 1.09-7.61, P=0.033), living in rented houses (OR=5.36, 95% CI: 1.94-14.84, P=0.001). Those living in their own houses (OR=5.14, 95% CI: 1.36-19.35, P=0.016) were more likely to engage in unprotected sex. 32.0% (156/487) of the interviewees clained that they ever used drugs in Dehong, with 9.7% (47/487) of them sharing syringe. Data also showed that HIV-infected individuals who had the following feartures as: being male (OR=15.61, 95% CI: 6.47-37.69, P<0.001), illiterate (OR=2.89, 95% CI: 1.44-5.84, P=0.003), coming from Kachin State (OR=3.01, 95% CI: 1.50-6.04, P=0.002) or Shan State (OR=5.30, 95% CI: 2.66-10.58, P<0.001), illegal visiters (OR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.18-3.14, P=0.009), living with friends/relatives (OR=5.78, 95% CI: 2.01-16.61, P=0.001), living in working place (OR=6.67, 95% CI: 3.06-14.53, P<0.001), or in rented houses (OR=11.84, 95% CI: 4.76-29.47, P<0.001). The ones who were living in their own houses (OR=6.77, 95%CI: 1.84-24.85, P=0.004) were more likely to engage in drug use in Dehong. Conclusion: Results from our study showed that the Burmese HIV-infected citizens in Dehong prefecture had the following characteristics: high mobility, low awareness of HIV positive status and high prevalence of AIDS-related risky behaviors. These findings called for greater efforts on HIV/AIDS prevention and management in Dehong city.