Preventive Knowledge About HIV/AIDS Infection among Msm in Rajs']jshahi City, Bangladesh

Globally, HIV/AIDS is major killer disease and public health concern and men who have sex with men (MSM) have higher rates of HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) than women and heterosexual men. The assessment of vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) infection among men who have sex with men (MSM) has long been an interesting topic to population and health researchers. The aim of this study was an effort to assess the determinant factors of preventive knowledge about HIV/AIDS infection among MSM in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. It was a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 103 MSM. The data and necessary information were collected through a semi structured questionnaire from a drop-in center in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. The preventive knowledge on HIV/AIDS was measured by eight different questions. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyze the data to find the associated risk factors on HIV/AIDS among MSM. The results revealed that around half of the MSM (44.66%) were not aware HIV/AIDS infection. Respondents' education, employment status, marital status, a habit to sex with many women, using condoms, how many time MSM per week, information sources about HIV/AIDS, and having apersonal risk of HIV/AIDS infection were found significantly (p< 0.05) associated with preventive knowledge about HIV/AIDS infection. Finally, binary logistic regression model identified that education, using condoms, information sources about HIV/AIDS, and having personal risk of HIV/AIDS infection were the most prominent predictors. The MSM were not enough aware of HIV/AIDS infection. In this study strongly recommended advocacy, communication for social mobilization programs should be taken to increase the preventive knowledge about HIV/AIDS infection among MSM population