Publications

The HIV epidemic in Vietnam is concentrated primarily in injecting drug users (IDUs). To prevent HIV-1 super-infection and to develop effective HIV prevention programs, data are needed to understand the characteristics of high risk HIV-positive IDUs. In 2003, we conducted a community-based cross-sectional study among predominately male, out-of-treatment IDUs, aged 18–45, in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam. Among 299 male participants, 42.8% were HIV-positive and among those, 96.9% did not know their status prior to the study. Thirty-two percent were HIV-positive and had high HIV behavioral risk (having unprotected sex or having shared injecting equipment in the past 6 months). Injecting for ≥ 3 years, younger age, and pooling money to buy drugs were independently associated with being at high risk for transmitting HIV. IDUs who purchased >1 syringe at a time were less likely to have high HIV behavioral risk. Structural interventions that increase syringe accessibility may be effective in reducing HIV risk behavior among HIV-positive IDUs. Study limitations are noted in the text.

Continuing comprehensive assessment of population health gap is essential for effective health planning. This paper assessed changes in the magnitude and pattern of disease burden in Thailand between 1999 and 2004. It further drew lessons learned from applying the global burden of disease (GBD) methods to the Thai context for other developing country settings. The study highlights unique pattern of disease burden in Thailand whereby epidemiological transition have occurred as non-communicable diseases were on the rise but burden from HIV/AIDS resulting from the epidemic in the 1990s remains high and injuries show negligent change. Lessons point that assessing DALY over time critically requires continuing improvement in data sources particularly on cause of death statistics, institutional capacity and long term commitments.

While anti-trafficking legislation has been improved and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) facilities established in Thailand to provide support to male victims of trafficking, including fishermen, the current framework requires men who have been trafficked to stay in shelters and does not permit them to work. The condition prohibiting work serves as a disincentive for male victims of trafficking to wilfully be identified as such. The objective of this report is to provide a better understanding of the recruitment, living and working conditions of fishermen and the extent of exploitation and abuse in the Thai fishing sector. The report reviews the legislative and regulatory framework governing the fishing sector and the recruitment of fishermen and its implementation, highlighting certain gaps which enable traffickers to operate in the sector and lead to abusive labour conditions. The report also examines protection and support services accessible by victims of trafficking.

This Book of Abstracts contains the abstracts of papers that were selected for presentation at the National Conference of HIV/AIDS Research. It represents the collective endeavor of many researchers, field investigators, scholars and others interested in HIV/AIDS research around the country. Except for the abstracts of invited presentations included in the beginning of the book, all were voluntary submissions for oral or poster sessions.

To improve HIV prevention and care programs, it is important to understand the uptake of HIV testing and to identify population segments in need of increased HIV testing. This is particularly crucial in countries with concentrated HIV epidemics, where HIV prevalence continues to rise in the general population. This study analyzes determinants of HIV testing in a rural Vietnamese population in order to identify potential access barriers and areas for promoting HIV testing services. A population-based cross-sectional survey of 1874 randomly sampled adults was linked to pregnancy, migration and economic cohort data from a demographic surveillance site (DSS). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine which factors were associated with having tested for HIV.

The BROS Khmer (Behavioral Risks On-Site Serosurvey of At-Risk Urban Khmer Men) study was designed to collect integrated HIV serostatus and behavioral risk information among Cambodian men frequenting ‘hot spots’ (i.e., entertainment venues) or MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) with a mobile bus. The behavioral data of 3,007 men (1,026 of which reported having had sex with a man) have shown that not only do differences exist between MSM and MSW (Men who have Sex with Women), but there are also significant differences in HIV-risky activities between MSMW (Men who have Sex with Men and Women) and MSMO (Men who have Sex with Men Only).

This is the third round of the Integrated Bio-Behavioral Surveillance Survey (IBBS) conducted in 2010 to collect behavioral data from labor migrants in the mid and far western districts of Nepal. This round was conducted to obtain updated estimates of the prevalence of HIV among the labor migrants and also aimed to assess the changes that have taken place in the migration trends and the sexual behavior of the labor migrants in the mid and far western region of Nepal. The overall objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of HIV among returnee male labor migrants from India and to assess their HIV/STI risk-related behaviors.

For nearly three decades, HIV and AIDS have been devastating individuals and families with the tragedy of untimely death and medical, financial and social burdens. Although children's concerns have always been present within the great spectrum of need associated with HIV, they have to some extent been overshadowed by the very scale of the epidemic in the adult population. Thanks to improved evidence and accelerated action, however, the story of how the AIDS epidemic is affecting children is being rewritten.

The District Level Household and Facility Survey is one of the largest ever demographic and health surveys carried out in India, with a sample size of about seven lakh households covering all districts of the country. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, initiated the District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS) in 1997 to provide district level estimates on health indicators to assist policy makers and program administrators in decentralized planning, monitoring and evaluation. This volume gives information on key indicators at the state and district levels for all States/Union Territories (excluding Nagaland).

The 2009-10 Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey (TLDHS) is the second national level population and health survey conducted in Timor-Leste and the first conducted as part of the global Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program. The sample for the survey was selected independently in every stratum, through a twostage selection process, to provide estimates for each of the 13 districts and for both urban and rural areas of the country. The 2009-10 TLDHS was designed to cover a nationally representative sample of residential households, taking into account nonresponse; to obtain completed interviews of women age 15-49 in every selected household; and to obtain completed interviews of men age 15-49 in every third selected household.