Upper Northern Region Of Thailand Research Articles

Environmental Health Literacy Regarding Fine Particulate Matter and Related Factors Among Village Health Volunteers in Upper Northern Thailand.

Fine particulate matter pollution has emerged as a significant life-threatening issue in Thailand. Recognizing the importance of environmental health literacy (EHL) in disease prevention is crucial for protecting public health. This study investigated EHL levels and aimed to identify associated factors among village health volunteers (VHVs) in the upper northern region of Thailand. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from 710 VHVs using the EHL assessment tool developed by the Department of Health, Thailand. The overall EHL score was moderate (mean, 3.28 out of a possible 5.0), with the highest and lowest domain-specific mean score for the ability to make decisions (3.52) and the ability to access (3.03). Multiple linear regression revealed that the factors associated with EHL score were area of residence (urban areas in Chiang Mai: B=0.254; urban areas in Lampang: B=0.274; and rural areas in Lampang: B=0.250 compared to rural areas in Chiang Mai), higher education levels (senior high school: B=0.212; diploma/high vocational certificate: B=0.350; bachelor's degree or above: B=0.528 compared to elementary school or lower), having annual health checkups compared to not having annual health check-ups (B=0.142), monthly family income (B=0.004), and individuals frequently facing air pollution issues around their residence (B=0.199) compared to those who reported no such issues. The VHVs exhibited moderate EHL associated with residence area, education, health check-ups, family income, and residential air pollution. Considering these factors is vital for enhancing VHVs' EHL through strategic interventions.

Use of Electronic Cigarettes and Associated Factors among Thai Vocational Students: An Institution-based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Introduction: The use of young electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is increasing worldwide, including in Thailand, where there are strict regulations governing the availability of e-cigarettes. This study explored e-cigarette use among vocational students and associated factors in Thailand. Methods: We enrolled 1150 students from six vocational institutions in the upper northern region of Thailand using a multistage design and gathered the data through a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the variables and their association with e-cigarette use. Results: Most of the participants (66.5%) were male, and the average age was 17 ± 1.7 years. The prevalence of e-cigarette use in the past 30 days was 18.4%. We found that the perceived price of e-cigarettes being affordable (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.7, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0–2.8), traditional cigarette smoking in the past year (AOR = 3.5, 95% CI: 2.4–5.1), a high positive attitude toward e-cigarettes (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.7–3.9), alcohol consumption in the past year (AOR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1–2.8), having close friends who used e-cigarettes (AOR = 4.4, 95% CI: 3.1–6.3), and having low self-esteem (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1–2.3) were significantly associated with e-cigarette use in the past 30 days. Conclusion: The use of e-cigarettes is prevalent among Thai vocational students, suggesting that continued maintenance of the enforcement policy on banning the importation of e-cigarettes into the country is thus needed. Furthermore, the government should improve law enforcement, especially against online marketing, and strengthen school-based anti-smoking programs.

Techniques for Managing Stress According to the Process of Contemplative Science for Secondary School Students in a Disrupted Classroom Situation

The objectives of this research were to 1) study the stress levels of secondary school students in a disrupted classroom situation and 2) propose techniques for managing stress according to the process of contemplative science for secondary school students in a disrupted classroom situation. It is action research. The research samples are 1) 300 secondary school students and 2) 9 experts in learning management and contemplative education, totalling 309 people, using the purposive sampling. The research instruments were 1) a stress level questionnaire, 2) a techniques for managing stress quality assessment form, and 3) a group discussion recording form. Quantitative data were analyzed by averaging. and standard deviation and qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis. The results found that.
 
 1. Study the stress levels of secondary school students in a disrupted classroom situation. It was found that from a survey of secondary school students in the upper northern region of Thailand, their stress levels were at the highest level. Which consists of 4 aspects of stress, consisting of 1) academic aspect, 2) economic aspect, 3) social aspect, and 4) family aspect. 2. Propose techniques for managing stress according to the process of contemplative science for secondary school students in a disrupted classroom situation found. The researcher studied research and documents related to the concept of contemplative science and synthesized techniques for managing stress according to the process of contemplative science for secondary school students, it is called Techniques for managing stress according to the process of contemplative science, PATAES model, consisting of 1) Perception 2) Assesses 3) Technique 4) Action, 5) Empathy and 6) Support had the highest level of results for evaluating the quality of appropriateness.

Factors Influencing the Chance of Inheriting the Family Farming Career among Heirs in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand in the Crisis of Farming Labor Decline

The aging society of farmers and lack of motivation to pursue a farming career among farmers’ young heirs could induce a severe labor shortage crisis in the farming sector in Thailand in the near future, especially in the upper northern region, which has been officially declared as the base of the organic agricultural production of the country. The main problem is the decision of farmers’ heirs to inherit or not inherit the farming career of their families. The relevant factors and their effects on the decision must be investigated and analyzed. A set of descriptive statistical tools were used to analyze the significance of each factor. A prediction model based on logistic regression was applied to analyze how sensitive of each factor is to the decision to inherit the family farming career. The discovered results could help the federal organization to plan and establish an appropriate strategy in order to cope with the crisis. Here, there are 519 surveyed samples referring to farmers’ heirs from five provinces in the upper northern region, which are Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Lamphun, and Mae Hong Son. The data were collected using a questionnaire. The following 10 relevant factors were found to have direct impacts on the decision to inherit the farming career: gender, increased age, marital status, increased yearly income, the chance to obtain advice from the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension, attitudes towards the farming career, an increase in the land size for farming per family, increase in the land size for farming in the rural area, the variety of agricultural products produced by the family, and an increased set of farming equipment and tools possessed by the family. However, an increase in the number of new family members could lead to unwillingness to inherit the farming career. All these factors in both the willing and unwilling groups had a statistical significance at the level of 0.05. Since the sample size of the willing group was considerably larger than the sample size of the unwilling group, a technique of minority oversampling was adopted to alleviate the problem of the imbalanced datasets. The classification accuracy obtained was 77.56. In addition to the federal planning and strategies applied to ease the crisis, the factors discovered in this study can be used as a stimulus for persuading and stimulating the young generation to inherit the farming career or become a skillful as well as knowledgeable professional farmer capable of producing high-quality agricultural products for the upper northern region of Thailand.

Sustainable Livelihood: Guidelines for Human Capital Access of Goat Farmers in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand: A case study

This article aimed to explain and present guidelines for the human capital development of goat farmers in the upper northern region of Thailand. To analyze the whole point of development towards sustainability, there was a field visit to explore the basic information of the basic goat farming context. In-depth interviews and non-participant observations were used as tools for conducting the research using the narrative method, and the story of goat farmers who have a high experience in raising goats was analyzed and conveyed. The information was obtained from farmers of 3 cases (Information–Rich Case) in Chiang Mai, Lamphun, and Lampang provinces and examined in a triangular way from visiting the area, and the results of the study were analyzed, summarized, and described. The results of the study revealed that “Human Capital” is the most valuable factor in production among other factors of production because, in addition to acting as a mechanism for carrying out various activities, it is also a factor that must be developed for the development of sustainable practices. Sustainable livelihoods will be available in the future for farmers as well, but before human capital can be a quality factor, it has to be learned to acquire skills, experience, and what human beings have accumulated, forged, and merged. That is to say, the development of the human capital of goat farmers for sustainable livelihoods is the development of knowledge of specific professional skills that are applied to ensure the stability of the farmer sector along with continuous support from the government and academic departments.

Health literacy, anxiety and stress among people during Coronavirus-2019 pandemic at the northern of Thailand

COVID-19 outbreaks have caused anxiety and stress for the world and Thailand. Low health literacy can cause higher mortality rates. This study investigated stress levels, anxiety, health literacy and predictive factors, creating an equation to predict stress in the upper northern region of Thailand. The sample was 400 people aged over 18 years in Phayao Province, Northern Thailand, selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. The instruments were interview guidelines. Data were collected on 1-30 January 2021 and analyzed with descriptive analysis and univariate analysis by using chi-square test, Phi, Cramer’s V, Spearman’s Rank Correlation and multiple logistic regression for the multivariate analysis. According to the findings, the study participants (52.2%) had high stress. The univariate analysis showed the independent variables correlated with stress with statistical significance to be gender (p-value < 0.01), occupation (p-value < 0.01), income (p-value < 0.001), number of vulnerable family members (r = 0.170), health literacy (r = -.275), economic anxiety (p-value < 0.05), anxiety about illness (p-value < 0.05) and anxiety about social activity (p-value < 0.01). From multiple logistic regression analysis, negative predictive factors were male gender (OR = 0.543, 95% CI = 0.340-0.868), number of family members (OR = 0.870, 95% CI = 0.758-1.00) and Covid-19 health literacy (OR = 0.941, 95% CI = 0.913-0.969). Positive predictive factors consisted of the sample with occupations as farmers (OR = 2.068, 95% CI = 1.259-3.395), number of vulnerable family members (OR = 1.546, 95% CI = 1.039-2.303) and economic anxiety (OR = 1.156, 95% CI = 1.005-1.330). Constant (2.015) = OC (0.726) + VUL (0.436) + AECON (0.145) - CVHL (0.061) – FAM (0.139) – SEX (0.611) The findings can be used to promote care for families with vulnerable family members by considering socioeconomic factors with activities to promote COVID-19 health literacy and policy-setting on healthcare development.

Effects of PM2.5 and Meteorological Parameters on the Incidence Rates of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand

Effects of PM2.5 and Meteorological Parameters on the Incidence Rates of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand

Impact of Rainfall-Induced Landslide Susceptibility Risk on Mountain Roadside in Northern Thailand

Landslide incidents frequently occur in the upper northern region of Thailand due to its topography, which is mostly mountainous with high slopes. In the past, when landslides happened in this area, they affected traffic accessibility for rescue and evacuation. For this reason, if the risk of landslides could be evaluated, it would help in the planning of preventive measures to mitigate the damage. This study was carried out to create and develop a risk estimation model using the artificial neural network (ANN) technique for landslides at the edge of the roadside, by collecting field data on past landslides in the study areas in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai Provinces. A total of 9602 data points were collected. The variables for forecasting were: (1) land cover, (2) physiographic features, (3) slope angle, and (4) five-day cumulative rainfall. Two hidden layers were used to create the model. The number of nodes in the first and second hidden layers were five and one, respectively, which were derived from a total of 25 trials, and the highest accuracy achieved was 96.74%. When applying the model, a graph demonstrating the relationship between the landslide risk, rainfall, and the slopes of the road areas was obtained. The results show that high slopes result in more landslides than low slopes, and that rainfall is a major trigger for landslides on roads. The outcomes of the study could be used to create risk maps and provide information for developing warnings for high-slope mountain roads in the upper northern region of Thailand.

The Situation of Rice Production and Trade of Farmers in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand

This study aims to study the situation of organic rice production and trade of farmers in the upper northern region of Thailand. This is qualitative research. The research area was organic rice for single and group farmers in Chiang Rai, Phayao, Chaing Mai, Lamphun, and Lampang. Target groups of important informants were model farmers who have been certified for organic rice production, local scholars and representatives of organic rice farmers, and organic rice academics using purposive sampling methods under the criteria and qualifications set by the researchers. There were three different kinds of research: questionnaires, interview forms, and group discussions. Data collection consisted of document research, interviews, observation, and small group discussions. The data was then analyzed, the content synthesized and descriptive reports were written. The results of the research revealed that rice production and trade of farmers in the upper northern region of Thailand in five provinces research areas are mainly for consumption and food security because most areas rely on rainwater, have fewer irrigated areas, and have less farming space than other sectors. The methods of farming are transplanting paddy fields, dry broadcasting paddy fields, wet broadcasting paddy fields, and drop broadcasting paddy fields. Most of the 82 percent are transplanting paddy fields and in some areas in the foothills where rice is planted in July and harvested from October to December. The most cultivated type of rice is glutinous rice, followed by white jasmine 105 rice, Pathumthani fragrant rice, brown rice, and organic rice respectively. The rice trade for farmers was divided into two levels: paddy marketing and rice marketing. Farmers store a portion of their products for household consumption and another portion for seed cultivation. Some farmers entered the loan program for delaying the sale of rain-fed paddy fields. For the rest of the products, farmers would sell paddy to merchants, Rice Farmers' groups, agricultural institutes (cooperatives), and private mills.

Association between PM10 from vegetation fire events and hospital visits by children in upper northern Thailand

Few studies have focused on the effects of exposure to air pollutants from vegetation fire events (including forest fire and the burning of crop residues) among children. In this study we aimed to investigate the association between PM10 concentrations and hospital visits by children to address respiratory disease, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis. We examined and compared these associations by the presence of vegetation fire events on a given day (burning, non-burning, and mixed) across the upper northern region of Thailand from 2014 through 2018. A vegetation burning was defined when a fire hotspot (obtained from NASA-MODIS) exceeded the 90th percentile of the entire region and PM10 concentration was over 100 μg/m3. To determine the association between hospital visits among children with PM10 concentrations on burning and non-burning days, we performed a time-stratified case-crossover analysis fitted with conditional logistic regression for each province. A random-effects meta-analysis was applied to pool province-specific effect estimates. The number of burning days ranged from 64 to 139 days across eight provinces. A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 concentration on a burning day was associated with a respiratory disease-related hospital visit at lag 0 (OR = 1.01 (95% CIs: 1.00, 1.02)). This association was not observed for hospital visits related to conjunctivitis and dermatitis. A positive association was also observed between PM10 concentration on non-burning days and hospital visits related to respiratory disease at lag 0 (OR = 1.03 (95% CIs: 1.02, 1.04)). Hospital visits for conjunctivitis and dermatitis were significantly associated with PM10 concentration at lag 0 on both non-burning and mixed days.

The Effectiveness of the Production of Healthy Rice in Comparison with other Rice Varieties in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand

The objective of this study is to examine the efficiency of the production of healthy rice and that of other varieties grown in the upper northern region, by using Meta-Frontier approach in analyzing the rice production efficiency. This study focuses on rice production of farmers by comparing between healthy rice growers and farmers of other rice varieties about 300 and 900 sampling respectively, in the areas of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phayao. In analyzing the efficiency used one variable of the output, the quantity of rice products and five input variables namely quantity of seeds, cost of soil nourishment fertilizer, cost of weeding, cost of labor in production, and cost of labor for harvesting. The study found that there were more variables for analyzing the efficiency of other rice varieties of rice than those of the healthy rice. Plus, general rice growers had higher production efficiency than healthy rice farmers (0.9439> 0.8604). However, it seems that they should reduce more production factors, particularly labor in production and that in harvesting. Meanwhile, the overall economy of scale had increased while that of each group appeared to be unchanged.

Influencing Factors of Cross-cultural Adaptation Process of Chinese Students Studying in the Upper Northern Thai Universities

Abstract With the development of China’s ‘One Belt and One Road’(OBOR) Initiative, many Chinese students have chosen Thai universities for foreign study in recent years. As usual, problems of cross-cultural adaptation becoming the primary issues they encounter during their stay in Thailand. Based on a survey of 314 Chinese undergraduates studying at eight universities in the upper northern region of Thailand, this study analyzed the influencing factors of the cross-cultural adaptation process of these Chinese students. It tested the Young Yun Kim’s structure model, which contains six dimensions of determining aspects on international students’ cross-cultural adaptation process. A quantitative research method was applied in this article by using a structured questionnaire as a tool to collect primary data. The data analysis was conducted by using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regressions. The findings indicated that five dimensions, i.e., Communication Competence (CC), Host Social Communication (HSC), Intercultural Transformation (IT), Environment (EN), and Predisposition (PR) are significant determining aspects for the cross-cultural adaptation process of Chinese students. Furthermore, nine influencing factors out of these five dimensions had significant positive impacts on the cross-cultural adaptation process. Therefore they are considered as the main influencing factors.

Genotypic distribution of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in northern Thailand.

BackgroundMultidrug/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (M/XDR-TB) is a major public health problem, and early detection is important for preventing its spread. This study aimed to demonstrate the distribution of genetic site mutation associated with drug resistance in M/XDR-TB in the northern Thai population.MethodsThirty-four clinical MTB isolates from M/XDR-TB patients in the upper northern region of Thailand, who had been identified for drug susceptibility using the indirect agar proportion method from 2005 to 2012, were examined for genetic site mutations of katG, inhA, and ahpC for isoniazid (INH) drug resistance and rpoB for rifampicin (RIF) drug resistance. The variables included the baseline characteristics of the resistant gene, genetic site mutations, and drug susceptibility test results.ResultsAll 34 isolates resisted both INH and RIF. Thirty-two isolates (94.1%) showed a mutation of at least 1 codon for katG, inhA, and ahpC genes. Twenty-eight isolates (82.4%) had a mutation of at least 1 codon of rpoB gene. The katG, inhA, ahpC, and rpoB mutations were detected in 20 (58.7%), 27 (79.4%), 13 (38.2%), and 28 (82.3%) of 34 isolates. The 3 most common mutation codons were katG 315 (11/34, 35.3%), inhA 14 (11/34, 32.4%), and inhA 114 (11/34, 32.4%). For this population, the best genetic mutation test panels for INH resistance included 8 codons (katG 310, katG 340, katG 343, inhA 14, inhA 84, inhA 86, inhA 114, and ahpC 75), and for RIF resistance included 6 codons (rpoB 445, rpoB 450, rpoB 464, rpoB 490, rpoB 507, and rpoB 508) with a sensitivity of 94.1% and 82.4%, respectively.ConclusionThe genetic mutation sites for drug resistance in M/XDR-TB are quite variable. The distribution of these mutations in a certain population must be studied before developing the specific mutation test panels for each area. The results of this study can be applied for further molecular M/XDR-TB diagnosis in the upper northern region of Thailand.

Modeling Haze Problems in the North of Thailand using Logistic Regression

At present, air pollution is a major problem in the upper northern region of Thailand. Air pollutants have an effect on human health, the economy and the traveling industry. The severity of this problem clearly appears every year during the dry season, from February to April. In particular it becomes very serious in March, especially in Chiang Mai province where smoke haze is a major issue. This study looked into related data from 2005-2010 covering eight principal parameters: PM 10 (particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 10 micrometer), CO (carbon monoxide), NO 2 (nitrogen dioxide), SO 2 (sulphur dioxide), RH (relative humidity), NO (nitrogen oxide), pressure, and rainfall. Overall haze problem occurrence was calculated from a logistic regression model. Its dependence on the eight parameters stated above was determined for design conditions using the correlation coefficients with PM 10 . The proposed overall haze problem modeling can be used as a quantitative assessment criterion for supporting decision making to protect human health. This study proposed to predict haze problem occurrence in 2011. The agreement of the results from the mathematical model with actual measured PM 10 concentration data from the Pollution Control Department was quite satisfactory.

Barriers to and motivations for the implementation of a treatment programme for latent tuberculosis infection using isoniazid for people living with HIV, in upper northern Thailand.

Background:Isoniazid Preventive Therapy (IPT) has been recommended by WHO/UNAIDS for people living with HIV (PLWH) since 1993; however the uptake of IPT implementation has been very low globally. This study aims to assess the barriers to and motivations for the implementation of IPT for PLWH in upper northern Thailand, an area with a high tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden.Methods:A survey was carried out via self-administered questionnaires mailed to healthcare workers (HCW) in all 95 public hospitals in the upper northern region of Thailand. A reminding phone call, one month after sending the mail, was made.Results:The response rate from the hospitals was 94% and from the HCW's, 70%. IPT programme was being implemented at only 18 (20%) out of the 89 public hospitals. The main barriers as reported by 144 HCWs working in hospitals without IPT programme, were: (1) unclear direction of national policy (60%), (2) fear of emerging Isoniazid resistant tuberculosis (52%), and (3) fear of poor adherence (30%). The 38 HCWs from hospitals implementing IPT programme, were motivated by (1) knowledge that IPT can prevent TB (63%), (2) the following of national guideline (34%), (3) concern for TB prevention even after the expansion of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) (32%).Conclusion and Recommendation:To implement an IPT programme for PLWH, giving a clear national policy and straightforward direction are necessary. Furthermore, provision of public health information and updated evidences may enhance HCW's comprehension of benefits and risks of IPT, thus it may increase the IPT programme implementation.

Population genetics of the high elevation black fly Simulium (Nevermannia) feuerborni Edwards in Thailand

AbstractIn this study, we examined the genetic structure and population history of the high elevation black fly Simulium feuerborni in Thailand at both cytogenetic and molecular genetic levels. Cytological examination revealed two cytoforms differentiated by fixed chromosome inversions. The distributions of the cytoforms were associated with geographic origins. Cytoform A was found in the lower north and northeast, and cytoform B was found in the upper northern region of Thailand. Molecular data based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) barcoding sequence supports the separation of the cytoforms. The average sequence divergence between the two cytoforms was 3.75%, which is higher than the threshold value for the species level based on a COI barcoding sequence. Median joining network clearly differentiated the haplotypes of the cytoforms into different lineages. Population pairwise FST and amova analyses reveal significant genetic differentiation between cytoforms. This indicates that the low land areas separating these populations act as a gene flow barrier. No genetic differentiation was detected within cytoforms. This could be due to a recent sharing of population history. Mismatch distribution analysis revealed population expansion in the northern lineage of the cytoform B approximately 220 000 years ago. More recent expansion (32 000 years ago) was found in the lower north and northeast (cytoform A) lineage. The demographic history of S. feuerborni mirrored previous findings in black flies and other insect species in Thailand. This indicates the important role of Pleistocene climatic change on genetic structure and diversity of Southeast Asian mainland species.

Factors influencing acceptance of human papillomavirus vaccine among young female college students in Thailand

ObjectiveTo determine knowledge and beliefs related to human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical cancer, and vaccination among young Thai women, and thereby identify independent predictors associated with acceptance of HPV vaccination. MethodsA convenience sample of 747 young women aged 18–24years was recruited from universities and colleges located in the upper northern region of Thailand. An online questionnaire was performed to assess demographics; HPV and cervical cancer-related health characteristics; and knowledge and beliefs toward HPV and cervical cancer. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent predictors of HPV vaccine acceptance. ResultsKnowledge about HPV and cervical cancer was moderate. The mean total knowledge score was 7.5±3.8. Acceptance of the HPV vaccine was significantly associated with having received a recommendation for vaccination (odds ratio [OR] 2.12; 95% CI, 1.22–3.68); perceived susceptibility to disease (OR 1.37; 95% CI, 1.22–1.52); perceived benefits of vaccination (OR 1.33; 95% CI, 1.19–1.49); and perceived seriousness of disease (OR 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81–1.00). ConclusionUnderstanding variables associated with acceptance of HPV vaccination may guide immunization initiatives and so increase the uptake rate among young Thai women.

Traffic Injury Correrated to Alcohal Drinking in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand

Traffic Injury Correrated to Alcohal Drinking in the Upper Northern Region of Thailand

Human immunodeficiency virus infection and self-treatment for sexually transmitted diseases among northern Thai men.

Self-treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) is common, but little studied, in Thailand, and its influence on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is unknown. To assess STD self-treatment and self-prophylaxis behaviors as well as HIV risks and serostatus among northern Thai men. Cross-sectional report from a cohort of military conscripts (N = 869). HIV and STD seroprevalence and reported risk behaviors, including STD history and antibiotic self-treatment, were obtained. Associations between STDs and self-treatment or prophylaxis and HIV infection were analyzed using t-tests, odds ratios, and logistic regression. The prevalence rate for HIV was 12.3%, and for syphilis it was 2.2%. Men who were seropositive for HIV were more likely to report having sex with commercial sex workers (OR 9.1), to have had an STD (OR 5.96) and to report inconsistent condom use with commercial sex workers (OR 3.13). Of 282 men reporting any STD, 65.2% treated themselves with antibiotics, and 8.5% used them before commercial sex. Among those who frequented commercial sex workers, 98.7% took preventive steps after sex by increasing urine output (69.2%), washing the genital area (28.9%), and using antibiotics (0.9%). Men reporting STD self-treatment were less likely to be HIV infected (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.31, 0.93). These men are attempting to prevent HIV and STDs. Self-treatment with antibiotics may lower HIV risks associated with bacterial STD in a high-prevalence population.