To Study the sociodemographic profile and  identify the prevalence of high risk behaviour for sexually transmitted diseases among study subpopulation

Dr. Ashfaq ahmad bhat; Dr.yasmeen jan; Dr. Rafiq mir

Volume : V, Issue : V, May - 2016

To Study the sociodemographic profile and identify the prevalence of high risk behaviour for sexually transmitted diseases among study subpopulation

Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad Bhat, Dr. Yasmeen Jan, Dr. Rafiq Mir

Abstract :

BACKGROUND: AIDS continues to spread rapidly, especially in sub–Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Many researchers warn that the worst is yet to come . By assuming the dimensions of a truly global pandemic, resulting in the death of more than 20 million people world wide, and another 40 million are waiting for the same fate.AIM: Behavior is the Engine that runs the AIDS epidemic. So the present aim is To Study the socio–demographic profile and identify the prevalence of high risk behaviour for sexually transmitted diseases among study subpopulation.METHODOLOGY: The present study was conducted within the municipal limits of Srinagar city. The subpopulations studied were:Long distance Truck Drivers and their helpers.Study .The study among Long distance Truck Drivers and their helpers was conducted at the two Main Truck Terminals .The study was conducted by in–depth face to face interviews with the target populations using the questionnaire based on Family Health International�s instrument for Behavioral surveillance surveys with suitable modifications. The parameters studied included:1) Respondent profile 2) alcohol & IV drug use 3) sexual behavior & condom usage The NGO running the targeted intervention project with Truck drivers namely Better World was approached for building a rapport with the study population. The interviews were conducted twice in a week at each of the sites and at each visit a total of 10% truck drivers available at that time were interviewed using systematic random sampling. The data was collected over a period of six weeks from a total of 245 truck drivers OBSERVATIONS: A total of 245 in depth face–to–face interviews were conducted in the present study .The observations made are as under:The mean age of the respondents was 29.5 years with a range of 17 to 48 years (SD = 8.21). In the Study Group , 35 respondents were illiterate and the rest (210) were educated. In the group, 133 respondents were married, 5 were divorced/ widowed/separated and the rest (107) were un–married.The average age of marriage in was 25.5 years with a range of 20–32 years (SD= 3.29). The mean duration in occupation for study group was 10.4 years with a range of 2 to 28 years (SD=7.19 ). 140 respondents in study group had taken drinks containing alcohol in the past one year. out of 245 respondents 224 had ever had sexual intercourse .The mean age at first sexual intercourse was 19.6 years . All respondents who had ever had sexual intercourse were sexually active in the past one year also .Among sexually active respondents 70 had only one partner in life, while as 154 had multiple partners. 119 respondents had sexual intercourse with a non– commercial partner & 35 had sexual intercourse with both commercial & non–commercial partners in the last 1 year. None of the respondents reported any homosexual experience in the last one year.All 224 sexually active respondents in were aware of male condom but only 133 had ever used them. CONCLUSION :The vulnerable sub–populations were studied for knowledge of behavioral indicators of IV drug abuse and sexual history. Despite the high awareness level of Long distance truck drivers & their helpers about STDs & HIV / AIDS, the prevalence of un–protected non – regular sex was high in this group (42.86%). However IV drug abuse was not reported by any respondent in this group