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HIV Testing and Cross Border Migrant Vulnerability: Social Integration and Legal/Economic Status Among Cross Border Migrant Workers in Thailand

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Abstract

The objective of this paper was to identify factors related to the use of HIV testing among cross border migrants in Thailand. Two measures of vulnerability (social integration and legal/economic status) as well as HIV knowledge, risk behaviour, and demographic factors were tested for association with HIV testing. Data were drawn from a survey of 2600 sexually active migrants age 15–59 in multiple provinces of Thailand. The measures of social integration (AOR = 1.14(95 % CI 1.09, 1.20) female; AOR = 1.12 (95 %CI 1.05, 1.19) male) and legal-income status (AOR = 1.12 (95 % CI 1.07, 1.18) female; AOR = 1.31 (95 %CI 1.20, 1.42) male) were positively related to the odds of reporting an HIV test for both male and female migrants. Exposure to AIDS programming including attending an AIDS meeting and possessing AIDS knowledge was also related to an increase in HIV testing. In addition, reproductive health factors including sexual risk behavior and childbirth increased the rate of HIV testing.

Resumen

Pruebas del VIH y la vulnerabilidad de los migrantes extranjeros en Tailandia. Integración social y el estatus legal/económica de los trabajadores migrantes desde el extranjero en Tailandia. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar los factores relacionados con el uso de pruebas del SIDA entre migrantes extranjeros en Tailandia. Dos medidas de vulnerabilidad (la integración social y el estatus legal/económica) juntas con el conocimiento del VIH, comportamiento riesgoso y factores demográficos fueron probados con la asociación con las pruebas de VIH. Los datos fueron sacados por una encuesta de 2600 participantes. Los participantes de la encuesta fueron ambos hombres como mujeres entre 15 a 59 años de edad y todos fueron activos sexualmente. Los participantes fueron sacados por varias provincias de Tailandia. Las medidas de la integración social (la proporción de probabilidades ajustado (PPA) = 1.14 (95 % CI 1.09 1.20) femenino; PPA = 1.12 (95 % CI 1.05 1.19) masculino) y el estatus de ingresos legales (PPA = 1.12 (95 % CI 1.07 1.18) femenino; PPA = 1.31 (95 % CI 1.20 1.42) masculino) fueron positivamente relacionadas con la probabilidad del reportaje de una prueba de SIDA por todos los migrantes. Conocimiento aumentado acerca de los programas de SIDA, lo cual incluye asistir juntas de SIDA y poseer conocimiento del SIDA, también fue relacionado con el aumento de la realizada de pruebas del VIH. Además, factores de la salud reproductiva incluyendo nivel de riesgo de actividades sexuales y el parto aumentaron la frecuencia de la realizada de pruebas del VIH.

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Acknowledgments

The data for this study was collected by the Institute for Social and Population Research (IPSR), Mahidol University in association with the Raks Thai foundation. Funding was provided by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. Aphichat Chamratrithirong served as the Director of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

    Kathleen Ford & Charamporn Holumyong

  2. School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1925 Lorraine Place, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA

    Kathleen Ford

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  1. Kathleen Ford
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  2. Charamporn Holumyong
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Correspondence to Kathleen Ford.

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See Table 5.

Table 5 Rotated factor loading matrix
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Ford, K., Holumyong, C. HIV Testing and Cross Border Migrant Vulnerability: Social Integration and Legal/Economic Status Among Cross Border Migrant Workers in Thailand. AIDS Behav 20, 919–927 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1255-z

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