ABSTRACT
@# Objective To understand the awareness of AIDS related knowledge, high risk behaviors, the infection status of HIV, syphilis and HSV-2, and to explore the associated factors with HSV-2 infection among whoremasters in Kaiyuan City, so as to provide scientific evidence for targeted intervention to prevent and control HIV and other STDs. Methods A self-designed questionnaire survey was conducted among whoremasters recruited through outreach activities and snowball sampling. The blood and urine were also collected for corresponding laboratory examination. Results Among the whoremasters, 98.22% had a high awareness of AIDS related knowledge, 9.33% once used drugs, and 14.67% did not use a condom during the latest commercial sex. 62.22% of the whoremasters ever had non-marital sex partners, and of those who had sex with non-marital sex partners in the past year, 59.55% reported using condoms inconsistently. The total infection rate of HIV/syphilis/HSV-2 was 18.22% and the infection rates of HIV, syphilis and HSV-2 were 3.11%, 1.33% and 16.44%, respectively. The older whoremasters were more likely to have a higher HSV-2 infection rate (AOR=1.044,95%CI:1.016-1.073,P=0.002), and those whoremasters not using a condom during the latest commercial sex were more likely to have a higher HSV-2 infection rate (AOR=3.125,95%CI:1.229-7.945,P=0.017). Conclusions Though whoremasters in Kaiyuan City had a high awareness of AIDS related knowledge, they had high-risk behaviors and relatively high HIV and other STDs infection rates. Targeted interventions are needed to improve the risk awareness of STDs infection to promote consistent condom use in both commercial and non-marital sexual behaviors among whoremasters.
ABSTRACT
Objective To design and develop an online training and evaluation system for parasitic pathogen recognition. Methods The system was based on a Parasitic Diseases Specimen Image Digitization Construction Database by using MYSQL 5.0 as the system of database development software,and PHP 5 as the interface development language. It was mainly used for on-line training and evaluation of parasitic pathology diagnostic techniques. Results The system interface was designed simple, flexible,and easy to operate for medical staff. It enabled full day and 24 hours accessible to online training study and evaluation. Thus,the system broke the time and space constraints of the traditional training models. Conclusion The system provides a shared platform for the professional training of parasitic diseases,and a reference for other training tasks.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is spreading rapidly among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Anonymous questionnaires or direct interviews have been frequently used to study their behavior. The aim of the study was to describe the behavioral risk profile of the MSM in Beijing using the randomized response techniques (RRTs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A cross-sectional survey of sexual behavior among a sample of MSM was conducted in two HIV counseling and testing clinics in Beijing. The survey was carried out with an anonymous questionnaire containing sensitive questions on sexual behavior. To obtain the honest responses to the sensitive questions, three distinctive RRTs were used in the questionnaire: (1) Additive randomized response model for quantitative questions, (2) randomized response model for multiple choice questions, and (3) Simmons randomized response model for binomial questions. Formulae for the point estimate, variance, and confidence interval (CI) were provided for each specific model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Using RRTs in a sample of 659 participants, the mean age at first homosexual encounter was estimated to be 21.7 years (95% CI: 21.2-22.2), and each had sex with about three (2.9, 95% CI: 2.4-3.4) male partners on average in the past month. The estimated rate for consistent condom use was 56.4% (95% CI: 50.1-62.8%). In addition, condom was estimated to be used among 80.0% (95% CI: 74.1-85.9%) of the population during last anal sex with a male partner.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our study employed RRTs in a survey containing questions on sexual behavior among MSM, and the results showed that RRT might be a useful tool to obtain truthful feedback on sensitive information such as sexual behavior from the respondents, especially in traditional Chinese cultural settings.</p>