MYANMAR MIGRANTS’ ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON HIV/AIDS IN THAILAND
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Abstract
Purpose : It was estimated that 3.6 million migrants in Thailand were from Myanmar. The health communication interventions were not effectively designed for this population due to lack of information on how Myanmar migrants’access to HIV/AIDS information. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Myanmar migrants’ access to information on HIV/AIDS in Thailand.
Methods : A self-assessed structured questionnaire was administered to 386 Myanmar migrants in Thailand to obtain data on the migrants’ proficiency in the Thai language, their sources of information on HIV/AIDS, the relative contribution of print and electronic media in providing them with knowledge on HIV/AIDS, their main interests in HIV/AIDS, the potential obstacles to their acquisition of public health knowledge, and their preferred sources for learning about HIV/AIDS.
Results : Myanmar workers have a poor command of the Thai language. Their primary sources of information are non-governmental organizations (NGOs), friends, and coworkers. They prefer to be informed about the prevention and transmission of HIV/AIDS in their factory and the hospital. The migrants did not understand information as it was in Thai language.We also found that 67.9% of the respondents used Facebook.
Conclusion : The language barrier was one of the main factors affecting Myanmar migrants’ access to information about the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment strategies should be accustomed to being acceptable and understandable for Myanmar migrants. In addition, the means and technique for disseminating knowledge should be appropriated regarding preferred educational channels and language.
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References
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