Association between expatriation and HIV awareness and knowledge among injecting drug users in Kabul, Afghanistan: A cross-sectional comparison of former refugees to those remaining during conflict

Catherine S Todd¹ , Abdullah MS Abed² , Steffanie A Strathdee¹ , Paul T Scott³ , Boulos A Botros⁴ , Naqibullah Safi² and Kenneth C Earhart⁴

¹Division of International Health & Cross-cultural Medicine, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0622, USA

²National AIDS Control Program; Ministry of Public Health; Great Massoud Circle, Kabul, Afghanistan

³United States Military HIV Research Program/Division of Retrovirology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research; 1 Taft Court, Suite 250; Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA

⁴Virology Research Program, United States Naval Medical Research Unit 3; Ramses Extension Street near Abbasia Fever Hospital; Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt

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Conflict and Health 2007, 1:5doi:10.1186/1752-1505-1-5


Published:	21 March 2007

Abstract

Background

Little is known about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) awareness among Afghan injecting drug users (IDUs), many of whom initiated injecting as refugees. We explored whether differences in HIV awareness and knowledge exist between Afghan IDUs who were refugees compared to those never having left Afghanistan.

Methods

A convenience sample of IDUs in Kabul, Afghanistan was recruited into a cross-sectional study through street outreach over a one year period beginning in 2005. Participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire and underwent voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B surface antigen, and hepatitis C antibody. Differences in HIV awareness and specific HIV knowledge between IDU who lived outside the country in the last decade versus those who had not were assessed with logistic regression.

Results

Of 464 IDUs, 463 (99%) were male; median age and age at first injection were 29 and 25 years, respectively. Most (86.4%) had lived or worked outside the country in the past ten years. Awareness of HIV was reported by 46.1%; those having been outside the country in the last decade were significantly more likely to have heard of HIV (48.3% vs. 31.7%; OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.14 – 3.53). However, of those aware of HIV, only 38.3% could name three correct transmission routes; specific HIV knowledge was not significantly associated with residence outside the country.

Conclusion

Accurate HIV knowledge among Afghan IDUs is low, though former refugees had greater HIV awareness. Reported high-risk injecting behavior was not significantly different between IDU that were refugees and those that did not leave the country, indicating that all Afghan IDU should receive targeted prevention programming.