Rapid Assessment Report on Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior of at Risk Male Population in the context of Spousal Transmission of HIV /AIDS in Bangladesh, October 2009.
This project was a collaboration between Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Center for Health Population and Environment (CHPD) at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in 2009.
Principal Investigator: Professor Omar Rahman
Co-PI: Dr. Nafisa Huq, Dr. Farhana Haque
Background
The phenomenon of spousal transmission is a rising concern globally among the HIV prevention and control community. Spousal transmission programs aims to address an emerging risk group of married women who are liable to become infected with HIV from their infected husbands and hence are likely to broaden the limits of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia. This vulnerable sub-population includes wives of men who engage in high-risk behaviors such as buying commercial unprotected sex, using injecting drugs (IDUs) and having sex with men (MSM). The actions of these men who are regarded as the Most at Risk Populations (MARPs) put not only their wives, but also their subsequent children at risk of acquiring the deadly infection.
Objective
The objective of the study was to identify factors (knowledge, attitude and risk perception) affecting spousal transmission of HIV/AIDS among married men and other relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh in order to support designing appropriate and pragmatic intervention programs for the prevention of spousal transmission of HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh.