Page 96 - GHES-2-1

Global Health Econ Sustain

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
HIV-related knowledge and risk behaviors

among transgender individuals in Dhaka,
Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

2
2
Md. Mantaka Rahman *, Ummul Khair Alam , Sathi Dastider ,
1,2
Ajmari Sharmin , Afroza Tamanna Shimu and Ciptasari Prabawanti 4
2
3
1 Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh
(ICDDRB), Dhaka, Bangladesh
2 National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), Dhaka, Bangladesh
3 Rangpur Medical College Hospital, Rangpur, Bangladesh
4 Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract
The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among transgender
individuals in Bangladesh stands at 1%, with a slightly lower rate of 0.9% observed
specifically in Dhaka city. Given their status as a minority group, the limited
understanding of HIV among transgender individuals poses a significant public
Academic editor:
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE health concern. Consequently, the study aims to investigate the HIV-related
knowledge and risk behaviors prevalent among transgender individuals in Dhaka
*Corresponding author:
Mantaka Rahman city. This cross-sectional study included 135 transgender individuals sourced from
(drmantaka.icddrb@gmail.com) a drop-in-center (DIC) and three selected Hijra Pollis in Dhaka. Data collection
Citation: Rahman, M., employed a semi-structured questionnaire featuring a Likert scale designed to
Prabawanti, C., Alam, U.K., collect data on HIV-related knowledge. The majority of participants identified
Dastider, S., Sharmin, A., & as professional sex workers, with 54.10% reporting irregular sexual clients, and
Shimu, A.T. (2024). HIV-related
knowledge and risk behaviors 48.90% involved in sex work for more than 10 years. Despite more than half (57%)
among transgender individuals exhibiting robust HIV-related knowledge, only one-third (37.30%) reported sporadic
in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A use of barrier methods, and slightly more than half (58%) demonstrated awareness
cross-sectional study. Global
Health Econ Sustain, 2(1): 1643. of HIV symptoms. A notable discrepancy in HIV-related knowledge was discerned
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1643 between transgender individuals from the DIC and their counterparts from the Hijra
Pollis (t [95% confidence interval] = 0.168 [0.1001 – 0.236], p < 0.001). In conclusion,
Received: August 21, 2023
despite the provision of healthcare services at the DIC, there persists a pressing
Accepted: November 17, 2023 need to address current risk behaviors and enhance sex education related to HIV
Published Online: February 15, 2024 awareness to mitigate associated hazards.
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article Keywords: Transgender; HIV-related knowledge; Risk Behavior; Dhaka
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is 1. Introduction
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Transgender individuals are characterized by a gender identification that deviates from the
Publishing remains neutral with gender identity assigned to them in gender at birth (Burdge, 2007). Those whose gender
regard to jurisdictional claims in identification contrasts with their assigned gender at birth may identify as trans or transgender,
published maps and institutional
affiliations. using terms such as transgender-assigned male at birth (AMAB) and transgender-assigned

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1643