High Risk Behavior, Knowledge and Attitude of HIV/AIDS among Workers in Factories Manufacturing Alcohol in Mandalay, Myanmar

Analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Mandalay, Myanmar to identify high risk sexual behavior, knowledge and attitude regarding HIV/AIDS and prevention practice related to HIV/AIDS among male workers in factories manufacturing alcohol. Participants included male workers (n = 219) from 10 alcohol factories in Industrial Zone (A). Data were collected through face to face interviews using pretested structured questionnaire. Results showed that 38.8% of the respondents were able to get discount to buy alcohol from their factory, and 70.3% of them consumed alcohol in the last 12 months. Regarding high risk sexual behavior, 38.4% of the respondents had intercourse with a casual partner of opposite gender, while 31.5% had intercourse with commercial sex workers and 19.2% had homosexual relationship during last 12 months. Among the married, 45% had extramarital intercourse. More than 80% of the respondents received HIV/AIDS related information from media and colleagues while 51.1% of them received from NGOs or health education at workplace. Among the respondents who engaged in different high risk sexual behaviors, 50% - 88.9% did not use condom consistently and they had significantly lower knowledge about HIV/AIDS. However, the knowledge and attitude regarding HIV/AIDS were not significantly different between the respondents who used condom consistently and those who did not. This study highlights the need of health education about HIV/AIDS and access to affordable condoms among workers in factories manufacturing alcohol to improve their knowledge, attitude and behavior, as well as to promote consistent condom usage as it is vital for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.