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Eroding Gains in Safe Sex Behavior, HIV/AIDS Knowledge, and Risk Perceptions Among Royal Thai Navy Conscripts After 28 Years of the AIDS Epidemic in Thailand

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Abstract

Despite extensive early prevention efforts, recent surveys suggest that sexual risk taking may again be on the rise in Thailand. The present cross-sectional study surveyed 3,299 recruits in the Thai Navy in 2010, to examine their rates and correlates of consistent condom use. Most participants were aged 21–22 years, unmarried, and had a secondary education. Almost half were employed in labor/agriculture. Only 17 % of sexually experienced recruits were consistent condom users, and 53 % reported multiple sex partners in the past 3 months. In multiple logistic regression, residence in the Northeast (AOR 1.47), age (AOR 1.43), being single (AOR 2.13), non-MSM status (AOR 1.41), voluntary testing (AOR 1.24), and condom use at first sex (AOR 4.29) were significantly associated with consistent condom use. These findings suggest gaps in Thailand’s condom campaign targeting both sexually experienced and inexperienced youth. Interventions targeting naval recruits may benefit from including sex education in the training curriculum, building drillmasters’ capacities to facilitate sex education/counseling, and creating a supportive environment with better access to condoms.

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Acknowledgments

This study and authors NY and JM received support through the University of California San Francisco from the following Grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH): Fogarty International Center (FIC) D43TW005799, National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) Center for AIDS Prevention Studies P30 MH062246, NIMH International Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies R25MH064712, and the Starr Foundation Scholarship Fund. Authors EH and MLE received support from NIMH Grant 1R01MH095659-01. NY was further supported by the Department of Health Communication at Hua Chiew Chalermprakiet University, Samut Prakan, Thailand. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIH, NIMH, the Starr Foundation, or Hua Chiew Chalermprakiet University. We also want to acknowledge the contributions of several people without whom this study could never have been conducted. First and foremost is Captain (RTN) Noppadol Supakorn, Commander of the Naval Training Center, who provided vehement support to this study. We also wish to thank Captain (RTN) Sommai Kijchalao; Commander (RTN) Ngern Puangnak at the Division of Preventive Medicine, Naval Medical Department of the Royal Thai Navy; and Commander (RTN) Danai Nungsue and the drillmasters at the Naval Training Center for their support throughout the entire study period. Moreover, we thank the International Traineeships in AIDS Prevention Studies at UCSF, and in particular Willi McFarland, for support and guidance in developing this manuscript. Last but not least, we wish to thank all of the 3,299 naval recruits for providing us with very useful information about perceptions and sex behaviors among this cross-section of young Thai males.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Health Economics and Evaluation (RECHEE), Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Nuntawun Yuntadilok

  2. Department of Health Communication, Hua Chiew Chalermprakiet University, Samut Prakan, Thailand

    Rattana Timmuang

  3. Division of Preventive Medicine, Naval Medical Department, Royal Thai Navy, Bangkok, Thailand

    Somkid Timsard

  4. Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Thomas E. Guadamuz

  5. Center for Health Policy Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

    Thomas E. Guadamuz

  6. Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, 50 Beale Street, Ste 1300, San Francisco, CA, 94105, USA

    Elsa Heylen & Maria L. Ekstrand

  7. Institute for Global Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Jeffrey Mandel

Authors
  1. Nuntawun Yuntadilok
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  2. Rattana Timmuang
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  3. Somkid Timsard
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  4. Thomas E. Guadamuz
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  5. Elsa Heylen
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  6. Jeffrey Mandel
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  7. Maria L. Ekstrand
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria L. Ekstrand.

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Yuntadilok, N., Timmuang, R., Timsard, S. et al. Eroding Gains in Safe Sex Behavior, HIV/AIDS Knowledge, and Risk Perceptions Among Royal Thai Navy Conscripts After 28 Years of the AIDS Epidemic in Thailand. AIDS Behav 18 (Suppl 1), 42–49 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0522-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0522-0

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