Objectives: The purpose was to identify the risky sexual behaviour, knowledge and attitude related to HIV transmission among migrant tribals living in the slums of a state headquarters city in India. Methods: From four Santal tribe-dominated slums in Bhubaneswar City, Orissa, India, a sample of 113 respondents 15-40 years of age was recruited. Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. Results: In this migrant tribal community, the majority of women are sexually active at an early age. The mean ages at first sexual intercourse among men and women are 19.5 years and 15.8 years, respectively. A considerable prevalence of pre- and extra-marital sex among married and unmarried respondents is reported, in addition to unsafe sexual practices including not using condoms. Knowledge of using condoms and of the prevention, cure and cause of HIV is very poor. A low risk perception and negative attitude towards AIDS are also reported. There are no significant differences in these parameters between respondents reporting pre-/extra-marital relations and those without such relations. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of behavioural risk associated with ignorance and more vulnerability among these migrants. It results in a potential risk not only to these community members, but also to the counterparts living in their native places for rapid spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, forming a vicious cycle. The results of the study show the need to study these groups across the country in order to design culture-specific intervention strategies. © 2007 Springer-Verlag.

Tribals Migration HIV Sexual behaviour Cross-sectional study Slums

sexual behavior Human immunodeficiency virus infection India demography human Health Behavior sex difference condom social aspect habit groups by age knowledge marriage Adolescent male semi structured interview female Article disease transmission adult migration sexual intercourse acquired immune deficiency syndrome