Effects of Empowerment and Health Belief Model for AIDS Preventing and Controlling Program of Foreign Female Sex Workers in Si Chiang Mai District, Nong Khai Province
Abstract
AIDS is currently an important public health problems because the number of AIDS infected patients
still trends to increase continuously, particularly in the group of foreign female sex workers who infected HIV
virus from service users without self-awareness. This quasi -experimental study aimed to examine the effects
of empowerment and health belief model (HBM) for AIDS preventing and controlling program of foreign female
sex workers by application of the theory of empowerment and HBM. The sample was purposively selected to
obtain an experimental group and a comparison group, 30 subjects each. The experimental group was
provided with the training program for 3 months while the comparison group did not. Data were collected by
using a questionnaire before and after the experiment. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics;
percentage, mean, and standard deviation including estimating statistics, paired t-test and independent t-test.
The study findings after the experiment revealed that the experimental group had higher changes in
knowledge of AIDS, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and practice in AIDS prevention than before
the experiment, and higher than the comparison group at the 0.05 level of significance.
In conclusion, the effects of the empowerment and HBM program using activities for enhancing
knowledge of AIDS, discussing for sharing experiences with one another, bargaining skill practice, denying skill
practice, and condom wearing practice in the correct way to be used as a guideline for performing activities
could develop these female sex workers to have more self-confidence and more decision making of practice
for AIDS prevention. Also, they were encouraged by their peer-group to behave themselves in the same
manner. Therefore, this model should be used in other areas with similar behavioral characteristics.
