Marc G. Boulay
China
Bloomberg School of Public Health, PhD program The number of rural-to-urban migrants in China has increased from 70 million in 1993 to more than 147 million in 2006. Rural-to-urban migrants are expected to represent one of the most dangerous “bridging populations” in China’s potential HIV/AIDS epidemic. Traditional epidemiology study assumes the spread of infectious diseases are related with population mobility and the process of urbanization, which bring more people into closer contact and provide the ready milieu for viral transmission. Population mobility is, however, much more than just a transporter of the virus. It could set a stage for broader socio-geographic and network transformation that could render migrants particularly vulnerable to risky sexual behaviors, which in turn may enhance their risk of HIV infection.
Immediate efforts are needed to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and safe sexual practices among migrant workers in China, whereas little information is available about the psychosocial determinants of HIV-related attitude and behaviors among this population. On the basis of in-depth interviews among 50 migrant workers in the Chinese city of Nanjing, this proposed qualitative study is designed to explore those issues with particular focus on the social network and normative influence about sex among this population. The findings from this research project might yield potential constraints and facilitating factors to improve HIV-related attitude and behaviors, and could be used for relevant policy and intervention program development. >> See all Spring 2007 Framework Award winners | 
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