Prevalence and Determinants of Access to, Perceptions on, and Preferences for, HIVrelated Health Education in Myanmar Migrant Workers in Ranong, Thailand

Abstract

This study was done to assess the accessibility to, perceptions on and preferences for HIV-related health education among Myanmar migrant workers in Ranong Province, Thailand. A cross-sectional study design with structured questionnaire and an open-ended question was used, and 357 subjects were interviewed. Non-parametric tests and bivariate correlation were used for hypothesis testing. In all, 245 workers (68.6%) had received HIV-related health education. Longer length of stay in Ranong was associated with greater access (p<0.001), but youth (15-25 yr.) had less access than older subjects (p=0.010). There was no significant difference in access when comparing the high-risk occupational groups with other occupations, but when fishery-related workers were excluded, high-risk workers had more frequent access than others (p<0.001). Regarding perceptions, only 6.2% agreed that they had adequate access, and also only 11.6% were satisfied with level of access. However, all believed that HIV/AIDS is an important matter. All preferred participatory types of HIV-related education over non-participatory ones (p<0.001). This preference was significantly stronger in the high-risk groups than in others (p=0.009). However, they also preferred some non-participatory methods, especially condoms and lubricants, cartoon/comic booklets, real-life photo story booklets, pamphlet/leaflets/ brochures, TV drama, and TV spots. The migrant workers strongly preferred to receive HIV-related health education in any place except government health centers and border gates. In addition, the majority of the supplementary qualitative information from the open-ended question reinforced the quantitative findings of the study.