Social support, gender, and HIV status disclosure among HIV-positive Myanmar migrants in Thailand | |
| Author | Su Nyein Nwe |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.GD-21-03 |
| Subject(s) | HIV-positive women--Thailand--Social conditions HIV Infections--Social aspects--Thailand Myanmar--Emigration and immigration Women immigrants--Thailand--Social conditions |
| Note | A thesis submitted in patial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Gender and Development Studies |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Disclosure of HIV status is crucial among HIV-positive people to enhance access to HIV treatment. Previous research indicates that HIV status disclosure was varied due to perceived risks of isolation and rejection after disclosure (Greeff & al., 2008). The study recorded, strong ties were really supportive for the broad disclosure when it was preferred over weak ties as social support network among HIV-positive individuals. The study aimed to explore if HIV status disclosure was linked to gender, perceived social support from family and friends, and preference of ties, in addition to migrants’ background social factors and demographic characteristics. A quantitative study was conducted in Mae Sot and Ranong, and quota sampling and close-ended structured survey questionnaires were used to collect information from HIV-positive Myanmar migrants who already enrolled in local HIV services, 84 women and 59 men (N=143) during June to mid-July 2021. To investigate the associations between migrants' background social factors and perceived social support from family and friends, Kruskal Wallis H test was used for language proficiency, Spearman's Rho test for length of stay, and Mann Whitney U test for presence of family in Thailand. As per the separated statistical analysis, perceived social support was positively associated with presence of family (p<0.01), but it was not influenced by language proficiency and length of stay. In addition, there was no difference by gender in perceived social support, as well as in preference of ties, and Mann Whitney U test was used to examine their associations. Results of binary logistic regression showed that HIV disclosure was predicted by perceived social support (p<0.1), preference of ties (p<0.05), and location (Mae Sot vs. Ranong) (p<0.01), although it was not predicted by gender, migrant's background social factors and other demographic measures. Results of linear regression analysis for perceived social support showed that HIV-positive individuals who were fluent in Thai language perceived lower social support, when compared to those who cannot speak at all(p<0.1), and the positive effect of presence of family on perceived social support was also investigated. In linear regression for preference of ties, the result showed that HIV-positive Myanmar migrants who were high school graduated tended to prefer strong ties as a social support network, compared to those with no education(p<0.01), and people from Ranong tended to prefer strong ties, when compared to those from Mae Sot(p<0.01) Overall, this study contributes to better understanding the needs of HIV-positive migrants by investigating varied roles that types of social support play on disclosure of HIV status among migrants. |
| Year | 2021 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Gender and Development Studies (GD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Chatterjee, Joyee S. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Doneys, Phillippe;Tsusaka, Takuji W. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2021 |