Labour migration and HIV risk

Labour migration and HIV risk

Male labour migrants in Russia: HIV risk behaviour Llevels, contextual factors, and prevention needs.

Amirkhanian YA, Kuznetsova AV, Kelly JA, Difranceisco WJ, Musatov VB, Avsukevich NA, Chaika NA, McAuliffe TL. J Immigr Minor Health. 2010 Aug 6. [Epub ahead of print]

Although the dire life circumstances of labour migrants working in Russia are well-known, their HIV risk vulnerability and prevention needs are understudied. Low socioeconomic status, lack of access to services, separation from family, and limited risk awareness all contribute to migrants' HIV vulnerability. Male labour migrants in St. Petersburg (n = 499) were administered assessments of their sexual behaviour practices, substance use, and psychosocial characteristics related to risk and well-being. Thirty percent of migrants reported multiple female partners in the past 3 months. Condom use was low, ranging from 35% with permanent to 52% with casual partners. Central Asian migrants had very low HIV knowledge, low levels of substance use, moderate sexual risk, high depression, and poor social supports. Eastern European migrants had higher HIV knowledge, alcohol and drug use, and sexual risk. Improved HIV prevention efforts are needed to reduce the risk vulnerability of migrants who relocate to high disease prevalence areas.

Editors’ note: Labour migrants are known to be particularly vulnerable to HIV – they have left their friends, families, and social connections at home to venture out in search of work, often in unfamiliar places that may have higher HIV prevalence than their home countries. In this study of labour migrants in Russia, although only 14% reported having had casual sexual partners in the past 3 months, 30% reported multiple sexual partners. This suggests that these men were having concurrent partnerships with women that they considered as regular partners. Since the median current length of stay in Russia was 6 months it is likely that this concurrency involved women living in a country that has one of the highest HIV incidences in the world. As this study points out, migrants from different countries/regions can have quite different behaviours, risk profiles, lifestyles, language concerns, and mental wellbeing. In order to engage them and tailor prevention programmes to their needs, patterns of risk must be explored along with the factors that influence them.