Sexual Practices and Misconceptions
Regarding Condom Usage and Status
of Voluntary HIV Testing among Truck
Drivers Employed in Transport Sector of
Haryana- A Cross-sectional Study
Published: March 1, 2021 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2021/46333.14656
Pooja Goyal, Mitasha Singh, Abhishek Singh
1. Professor and Head, Department of Community Medicine, Esic Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana, India.
2. Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Esic Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana, India.
3. Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati, Govt. Medical College, Nalhar, Nuh, Mewat, Haryana, India
Correspondence
Dr. Mitasha Singh,
Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, ESIC Medical College
and Hospital, NIT, NH3, Faridabad, India.
E-mail: mitasha.17@gmail.com
Introduction: Truck drivers serve as a bridge population between high risk group and general population. Their nature of job demands travelling for days which compromises their lifestyle and health needs.
Aim: To describe the sexual practices and misconceptions regarding condom usage and the status of voluntary Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing among truck drivers and helpers.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted during a health screening camp, conducted by team from a tertiary care centre of district Faridabad among truck drivers employed in a transport company. All the participants were interviewed by a trained counsellor using a structured, closed ended questionnaire. Data was analysed by using SPSS version 21. Fischer’s-exact and Chi-square tests were applied to test differences in proportions. Student t-test was applied to test the differences in mean between two groups. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Total 117 male truck drivers and helpers participated in the study, of which 87.2% were sexually active with condom usage rate of 41.2%. Majority of the sexually active participants (92.8%) had more than one sexual partner in the last year. Condom usage was significantly higher among those having multiple partners than single partner (p<0.001). Having sex with wife (36.4%) and preferred sex without condom (21.1%) were two major reasons elicited for non-usage of condoms. Almost half (46.2%) preferred to buy condoms from chemist shop. Only 14.7% of all the sexually active participants were ever tested for HIV.
Conclusion: Truck drivers with multiple sexual partners were prevalent; however, usage of condoms was high among them.
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