Research Article

Disgusting for being HIV infected: Case study on HIV knowledge, sexual risk behaviors, and attitudes among MSM overseas Filipino workers in UAE

Ferdinand II Bangiban Villaseñor 1 * , Wilfred D. Bidad 1
More Detail
1 Mindanao State University, General Santos City, PHILIPPINES* Corresponding Author
Mediterranean Journal of Social & Behavioral Research, 7(1), February 2023, 19-28, https://doi.org/10.30935/mjosbr/12661
Submitted: 01 August 2022, Published Online: 21 November 2022, Published: 01 January 2023
OPEN ACCESS   867 Views   1095 Downloads
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

HIV has been prevailing in many societies as a health threat and numerous men are affected of this global health crisis. This study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude, and sexual risk behaviors of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) men having sex with men (MSM) about HIV. Through a qualitative using case study research design, in-depth key informant interviews (KIIs) were done to secure primary data collection and better understand the informants’ experiences and perceptions about HIV. The informants of the study involved 10 OFWs who worked in Dubai, UAE. Based on thematic data analysis, findings highlighted that the informants were knowledgeable of HIV transmission, symptoms, and prevention and treatment. They avoid drug use and practice safe sex especially through condom use to avoid HIV infection. However, they admitted to sexual risk behaviors. Consequently, the MSM pointed out the stigma, insecurity, and hopelessness of people dealing and living with HIV disease and enjoin people to give them fair treatment and acceptance in society. This study recommends expanding HIV awareness campaign programs to lessen the HIV disease and discrimination against people with HIV through promoting in social media and other relevant platforms and health support services.
Keywords: HIV knowledge, HIV attitudes, HIV behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, MSM, OFW

CITATION (APA)

Villaseñor, F. I. B., & Bidad, W. D. (2023). Disgusting for being HIV infected: Case study on HIV knowledge, sexual risk behaviors, and attitudes among MSM overseas Filipino workers in UAE. Mediterranean Journal of Social & Behavioral Research, 7(1), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.30935/mjosbr/12661

REFERENCES

  1. Africa, R. J. (2002). Understanding the face of HIV/AIDS: Filipino men who have sex with men.
  2. Alhasawi, A., Grover, S. B., Sadek, A., Ashoor, I., Alkhabbaz, I., & Almasri, S. (2019). Assessing HIV/AIDS knowledge, awareness, and attitudes among senior high school students in Kuwait. Medical Principles and Practice, 28(5), 470-476. https://doi.org/10.1159/000500307
  3. Alkaiyat, A., Schaetti, C., Liswi, M., & Weiss, M. G. (2014). Condom use and HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Jordan. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 17(1), 18573. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.17.1.18573
  4. Amo, J. D. (2016). HIV and migrants. Topics in Antiviral Medicine, 24(E-1), 71.
  5. Arellano, B. Z., Armamento, A. M., Arnesto, D. N., Arquines, J. P., Avanceña, J. M., Baluan, E. C., Bangit, A. R., Baoas, R.D., Barateta, F. M., Barroquillo, A. C., & Bautista, C. E. (2019). A cross-sectional study on the HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and practices of male youth having sex with men in Metro Manila. UERM Health Sciences Journal, 8(1), 37-44.
  6. Awasthi, K. R., Adefemi, K., & Tamrakar, M. (2015). HIV/AIDS: A persistent health issue for women and children in mid and far Western Nepal. Kathmandu University Medical Journal, 13(49), 88-93. https://doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v13i1.13762
  7. Beyrer, C., Sullivan, P. S., Sanchez, J., Dowdy, D., Altman, D., Trapence, G., Collins, C., Katabira, E., Kazatchkine, M., Sidibe, M., & Mayer, K. H. (2012). A call to action for comprehensive HIV services for men who have sex with men. The Lancet, 380(9839), 424-428. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61022-8
  8. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  9. CDC. (2015). HIV basics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/actagainstaids/basics/
  10. Chemaitelly, H., Weiss, H. A., Calvert, C., Harfouche, M., & Abu-Raddad, L. J. (2019). HIV epidemiology among female sex workers and their clients in the Middle East and North Africa: Systematic review, meta-analyses, and meta-regressions. BMC Medicine, 17(1), 119. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-019-1349-y
  11. Chowdhury, D., Saravanamurthy, P. S., Chakrabartty, A., Purohit, S., Iyer, S. S., Agarwal, A., Gopal, K. M., & Mishra, P. (2018). Vulnerabilities and risks of HIV infection among migrants in the Thane District, India. Public Health, 164, 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.07.019
  12. Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A. & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), 100.https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-100
  13. de Lind van Wijngaarden, J. W., Ching, A. D., Settle, E., van Griensven, F., Cruz, R. C., & Newman, P. A. (2018). “I am not promiscuous enough!”: Exploring the low uptake of HIV testing by gay men and other men who have sex with men in Metro Manila, Philippines. PLoS ONE, 13(7), e0200256. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200256
  14. Fay, H., Baral, S. D., Trapence, G., Motimedi, F., Umar, E., Iipinge, S., Dausab, F., Wirtz, A., & Beyrer, C. (2011). Stigma, health care access, and HIV knowledge among men who have sex with men in Malawi, Namibia, and Botswana. AIDS and Behavior, 15(6), 1088-1097. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9861-2
  15. Fettig, J., Swaminathan, M., Murrill, C. S., & Kaplan, J. E. (2014). Global epidemiology of HIV. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, 28(3), 323-337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2014.05.001
  16. Friedman, M. R., Wei, C., Klem, M. L., Silvestre, A. J., Markovic, N., & Stall, R. (2014). HIV infection and sexual risk among men who have sex with men and women (MSMW): A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 9(1), e87139. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087139
  17. Hamarsheh, O. (2020). HIV/AIDS in Palestine: A growing concern. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 90, 18-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2019.10.019
  18. Haroun, D., El Saleh, O., Wood, L., Mechli, R., Al Marzouqi, N., & Anouti, S. (2016). Assessing knowledge of, and attitudes to, HIV/AIDS among university students in the United Arab Emirates. PloS ONE, 11(2), e0149920. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149920
  19. Hirsch, J. S. (2014). Labor migration, externalities, and ethics: theorizing the meso-level determinants of HIV vulnerability. Social Science & Medicine, 100, 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.10.021
  20. Inungu, J. N., Ndeke, J. M., Jahanfar, S., Snyder, F., Odio, O. J., & Okonji, A. (2019). HIV prevalence and related risk behaviors among men who have sex with men in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. European Journal of Environment and Public Health, 4(1), em0034. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejeph/5975
  21. Koblin, B. A., Husnik, M. J., Colfax, G., Huang, Y., Madison, M., Mayer, K., Barresi, P. J., Coates, T. J., Chesney, M. A., & Buchbinder, S. (2006). Risk factors for HIV infection among men who have sex with men. AIDS, 20(5), 731-739. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.aids.0000216374.61442.55
  22. Koirala, S., Deuba, K., Nampaisan, O., Marrone, G., Ekström, A. M., & CATS-S Group. (2017). Facilitators and barriers for retention in HIV care between testing and treatment in Asia- A study in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Lao, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam. PLoS ONE, 12(5), e0176914. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176914
  23. Mumtaz, G. R., Awad, S. F., Feizzadeh, A., Weiss, H. A., & Abu‐Raddad, L. J. (2018). HIV incidence among people who inject drugs in the Middle East and North Africa: Mathematical modelling analysis. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 21(3), e25102. https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.25102
  24. Ofreneo, M. A., & Canoy, N. (2017). Falling into poverty: The intersectionality of meanings of HIV among overseas Filipino workers and their families. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 19(10), 1122-1135. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2017.1294261
  25. Restar, A., Nguyen, M., Nguyen, K., Adia, A., Nazareno, J., Yoshioka, E., Hernandez, L., & Operario, D. (2018). Trends and emerging directions in HIV risk and prevention research in the Philippines: A systematic review of the literature. PloS ONE, 13(12), e0207663. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207663
  26. Ross, A. G., Ditangco, R. A., Belimac, J. G., Olveda, R. M., Mercado, E. S., Rogers, G. D., Cripps, A. W., Lam, A., & Crowe, S. M. (2013). HIV epidemic in men who have sex with men in philippines. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 13(6), 472. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70129-4
  27. Segen’s Medical Dictionary. (2011). Men who have sex with men. https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/men+who+have+sex+with+men
  28. Shakiba, E., Ramazani, U., Mardani, E., Rahimi, Z., Nazar, Z. M., Najafi, F., & Moradinazar, M. (2021). Epidemiological features of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa from 1990 to 2017. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 32(3), 257-265. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956462420960632
  29. Sullivan, P. S., Carballo-Diéguez, A., Coates, T., Goodreau, S. M., McGowan, I., Sanders, E. J., Smith, A., Goswami, P., & Sanchez, J. (2012). Successes and challenges of HIV prevention in men who have sex with men. The Lancet, 380(9839), 388-399. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60955-6
  30. Vu, B. N., Mulvey, K. P., Baldwin, S., & Nguyen, S. T. (2012). HIV risk among drug-using men who have sex with men, men selling sex, and transgender individuals in Vietnam. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 14(2), 167-180. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2011.630756
  31. WHO. (2015). External review of the national health sector response to HIV and sexually transmitted infections: Republic of the Philippines. World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/208204
  32. WHO. (2017). HIV/AIDS–WHO fact sheet. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs360/en/