HIV knowledge among male labor migrants in China

BACKGROUND: This study described knowledge about HIV prevention and transmission among labor migrants in China and assessed the factors that associate with HIV knowledge. METHODS: The study is based on primary data collected in Xi’an city, China. The study includes 939 male rural-to-urban migrants aged 28 and older. The multivariate analysis used OLS regression techniques to examine the correlates of HIV knowledge. RESULTS: Most migrants know what AIDS/HIV is, but many have deficient knowledge about self-protection and the transmission routes of HIV. About 40% of migrants fail to understand that condoms decrease the risk of HIV infection. Higher levels of education and internet usage associate with better HIV knowledge. Migrants who have engaged in sex with commercial sex workers have better HIV knowledge than migrants who have never paid for sex. This includes better knowledge of self-protection. CONCLUSION: Labor migrants are a high risk population for HIV infection. Their lack of HIV knowledge is a serious concern because they are a vulnerable group for infection and their sexual behaviors are spreading HIV to other members of the population and across geographic areas.