National HIV Prevention Conference Atlanta, Georgia, USA — July 27 - 30, 2003

Natl HIV Prev Conf 2003 July 27-30:abstract no. M1-B1602
Sanchez MA, Lemp GF, Magis C, Noriega Minichiello S, Bravo E
University of California, Office of the President, Universitywide AIDS Research Program, Oakland, CA

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:: To assess the prevalence of HIV-related risk behaviors amongst migrants in Morelos and Puebla, Mexico.

METHODS: From June to December 2001, enumeration and targeted sampling were initiated amongst a representative sample of migrant men and women aged 12 to 76 years in Morelos and Puebla, Mexico. Participants were interviewed using a standard behavioral surveillance questionnaire.

RESULTS: Of the 1,367 study participants, 966 (71%) were male and 401 (29%) were female. Of those who migrated for work in the last year, 908 (84.8%) migrated to another town within Mexico, while 163 (15.2%) migrated to another country. Of the study participants, 597 (43.7%) reported being married or living with a sexual partner, with 89% reporting that they had sometimes or never used a condom with their sexual partner/spouse in the last year. Of the participants, 164 (12.0%) reported having sex with a commercial sex worker in the last year, with 54.1% reporting that they had sometimes or never used a condom with a commercial sex worker in the last year. Almost 13%, 175 participants, reported having sex wile working away from their home in the last year, with 52.5% reporting that they had sometimes or never used a condom during that time away from home in the last year. Of those reporting, 15 (2.6%) identified themselves as MSMs. Injection drug use was high, with 395 (28.8%) study participants reporting injecting vitamins, 175 (12.8%) injecting B Complex, specifically, 83 (6.1%) injecting other non-narcotics, and 39 (2.8%) injecting narcotics. Of those responding, 429 (33.3%) reported that they had never heard of AIDS. Ninety (10.9%) participants reported that they had been tested for HIV with 80.5% currently aware of their test results. Of those responding, 425 (34.6%) felt that they had a great or medium risk of acquiring HIV or an STD.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate the need for improving HIV-prevention efforts for migrants throughout the Mexican states of Morelos and Puebla.

030727
M1-B1602

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