Knowledge, attitude and practice on HIV/AIDS prevention among Vietnamese seafarers at Hon Gai and Cam Pha ports, QuangNinh in 2017

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 seafarers from ships anchoring at Hon Gai and Cam Pha ports, Quang Ninh province in 2017 in order to assess the situation of their knowledge, attitude and practices on prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission, then based on that basis to develop an appropriate intervention plan in preventing HIV/AIDS transmission.
The study results showed that 100% seafarers were men, very young (20-39 years-old) and having high education level (54.4% from colleges or universities). 100% seafarers had access of information on HIV/AIDS through media, of which 2/3 seafarers listened to radio and watched television daily. Although 86.3% seafarers did not receive any direct support for HIV/AIDS prevention. The rate of seafarers having good knowledge, attitudes and practices remained high, 89.3%, 87.4% and 90.0%
respectively. In the future, in order to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices of seafarers on HIV/AIDS prevention, it is necessary to continue promoting the role of communication on tradional media (radio, television ...), and develop suitable programs to support HIV/ AIDS prevention avtivities for seafarers.