November 2003

Expanding Workplace HIV Prevention Programs for a Highly Mobile Population in
Ho Chi Minh City

Male construction workers in peer education session. Photo credit: Dr. Vu Ngoc Bao

As HIV prevalence in Vietnam increases, promoting prevention behavior among vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers, becomes more critical. As of 31 December 2002, nearly sixty thousand cases of HIV infection had been reported in Vietnam’s 61 provinces (National AIDS Standing Bureau 2002). Of the total, one-fifth of these cases were reported in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), where heterosexual intercourse is a significant and growing mode of transmission (Chung et al. 1998). In Ho Chi Minh City, efforts by the local government have been in place for several years to focus prevention activities on migrant workers. The principal activity uses volunteer health communicators to conduct HIV education activities at workplaces. Yet these prevention efforts have reached only a minority of migrant workers, and the effectiveness of the approach remains unclear. Local authorities want to expand their efforts but need more information about which activities are the most effective and least costly, as well as their potential for scale-up.

The Horizons Program, in conjunction with the Population Council/Vietnam, the HCMC Labor Union, the HCMC AIDS Committee, and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities of HCMC National University, with additional support from the Ford Foundation, compared the existing workplace HIV prevention program for highly mobile construction workers with a new peer education (PE) program. Specifically, this operations research study examined the feasibility, impact, and cost of the two programs. Other important objectives of the study included exploring the role of the labor union in managing workplace HIV/AIDS programs, examining strategies to motivate management to support HIV/AIDS workplace programs in relatively low-prevalence environments, and demonstrating that a workplace program using peer educators can successfully follow a highly mobile work force from one site to another.

• Program Activities, Methods, and Characteristics of the Study Populations
• Key Findings
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• References
• PDF format of summary (116 KB)

The authors are: Dr. Vu Ngoc Bao, Population Council, Vietnam; Dr. Philip Guest, Horizons Program/Population Council; Dr. Julie Pulerwitz, Horizons Program/Program for Appropriate Technology Health in Health; Dr. Le Thuy Lan Thao, Ho Chi Minh City AIDS Standing Bureau; Mr. Duong Xuan Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City Labor Union; and Dr. Tran Thi Kim Xuyen, College of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ho Chi Minh City National University; Ann Levin, formerly Horizons/Family Health International.

Special thanks to the Ford Foundation, particularly Lisa Messersmith, for providing financial and technical support for the intervention study.

Suggested citation: Bao, V. et al. 2003. "Expanding Workplace HIV Prevention Programs for a Highly Mobile Population in Ho Chi Minh City," Horizons Research Summary. Washington, D.C.: Population Council.

About Horizons

Horizons conducts global operations research to improve prevention, care, and support program. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council in partnership with the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Tulane University, Family Health International (FHI), and Johns Hopkins University.

Copyright © 2003 The Population Council

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03 Jan 2009