Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing among Rural Migrants in Shanghai, China

• Published in: AIDS education and prevention 2009-12, Vol.21 (6), p.570-581
• Main Authors: He, Na, Zhang, Jinling, Yao, Jinjian, Tian, Xiuhong, Zhao, Genming, Jiang, Qingwu, Detels, Roger
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS); Adolescent; Adult; Aged; AIDS; AIDS Serodiagnosis - psychology; AIDS Serodiagnosis - statistics & numerical data; AIDS/HIV; Attitudes; China; China - epidemiology; Community Relations; Community Services; Condoms; Contraception; Correlation; Counseling; Counseling - statistics & numerical data; Counseling services; Counselling; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnostic Tests; Disease Control; Epidemics; Ethnography; Female; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health promotion; Health services; HIV; HIV Infections - diagnosis; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - psychology; HIV-1; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Knowledge; Knowledge Level; Male; Middle Aged; Middle Schools; Migrants; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - psychology; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Peoples Republic of China; Prevention; Public health; Questionnaires; Risk; Risk-Taking; Rural Areas; Sampling; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Behavior - psychology; Sexual Behavior - statistics & numerical data; Sexuality; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Socioeconomic Factors; Statistical Analysis; STD; Surveys and Questionnaires; Testing; Transients and Migrants - statistics & numerical data; Urban health care; Urban Population; Voluntary Programs - utilization; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0899-9546; 1943-2755
• DOI: 10.1521/aeap.2009.21.6.570

A study of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) among rural migrants was conducted in Shanghai, China. An anonymous questionnaire was administered face-to-face. Among 2,690 participants, 78% reported having had lifetime sexual intercourse with 41.3% of singles reporting sexual intercourse, 9.2% having had multiple sex partners in the past year, only 19% of the participants always using condoms whereas 61.6% did not use in their sexual acts in the past month, 80% knew HIV infection was diagnosed through a blood test, 46.5% had heard of VCT ever before, but only 3.5% felt that they were likely to be HIV-infected now or in the future and only 62 (2.3%) had ever had HIV testing with 19 of them getting tested at a VCT site. Gender, working venue, multiple sex partnerships and knowledge of VCT were independently correlated with having had HIV testing. This study suggests that a much greater effort is needed to promote safer sex and to improve VCT knowledge and services among rural migrants particularly those who are engaging in risky behaviors.