Risk behaviors for HIV/AIDS among youth in rural area of Myanmar.

Abstract In some areas of Myanmar up to 1.8 percent of young people aged 15-24 are living with HIV. This study was to describe risk behaviors on HIV/AIDS among youth in rural area of Myanmar. Multistage random sampling was used. A sample of 210 youths aged 15-24 were interviewed. Majority of respondents (70%) were in low level of HIV/AIDS risk behavior. Among those who had sex experiences (30%), more than half had sex before marriage, only 15.9% of them always use condom and 27% of them have had more than one partner. Age, marital status, occupation, monthly income and level of knowledge were found to be significantly associated with level of risk behaviors. Education programs on HIV prevention should be conducted extensively among youths as community based program and also in schools to reinforce health promoting behaviors.