Sexual Behavior, HIV Prevalence and Awareness Among Wives of Migrant Workers: Results from Cross-sectional Survey in Rural North India.
BACKGROUND
Migration has been linked to the spread of HIV epidemic from the urban areas of western India to the rural areas of north India.


OBJECTIVE
This is the first population-based study among the wives of migrant workers of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar with objectives to describe their sexual behavior within marriage, estimate the prevalence of HIV, and to know their awareness regarding HIV/AIDS.


METHODS
A two-stage cluster survey was conducted by randomly selecting 25 eligible wives from each of the 34 selected villages. A total of 850 wives were interviewed and the blood samples were collected for HIV testing. To determine the factors associated with HIV/AIDS-awareness, we calculated adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using multiple logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
34 (3%) of 850 wives reported condom use with their husband. HIV prevalence was 0.59% (95% CI: 0.19-1.37%) among the wives of migrant workers. Out of 850 wives, 132 (15.5%) had heard about HIV. Condoms use (OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.22-7.90) and premarital sex (OR=7.44, 95% CI: 1.6-33.67) were found significantly positively associated with HIV knowledge of wives. HIV awareness of the wives was significantly associated with age-group 15-24 years, literacy status, and possession of television and husbands' literacy status. The knowledge about HIV among wives had significant positive impact on condoms use and premarital sex. HIV prevalence among the wives of migrant workers was higher than the prevalence among women in the general population. Education was found to be positively associated with awareness about HIV.


CONCLUSIONS
Effective interventions are needed for increasing awareness of HIV among wives of migrant workers in Bihar.
Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India.
Alok
A
Ranjan
ICMR School of Public Health, National Institute of Epidemiology, Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, India.
Tarun
T
Bhatnagar
Public Health Foundation of India, IIPH-H, Bangalore campus, SIHFW premises, Bangalore, India.
Giridhara R
GR
Babu
Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
Roger
R
Detels
Bihar; HIV awareness; migrant; rural; sexual behavior