Frequency of High Risk Behaviour in HIV Positive Patients Referred to Centers for Behavioural Disorders of Rafsanjan and Kerman in 2012

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) as a major health challenge has close relationship with high-risk behaviour. Patterns and changes in risk behaviour associated with HIV are important factors in creating a community-level HIV epidemic. The current study examined the prevalence and patterns of risky behaviour before and after the diagnosis of HIV-positive individuals. In this cross-sectional study, 130 HIV-positive people were selected through census method in Rafsanjan health center 1 (n = 55) and Kerman behavioral diseases center (n = 75) in 2012. The patients were interviewed thrugh of checklist made by resercher by a psychiatrist and necessary information was collected before and after the diagnosis of HIV infection. Data were analyzed using chi-square, Fisher's exact, and McNemar's tests. The mean age of patients was 40.12 ± 8.20 years and most of them were male. Before HIV diagnosis, the frequencies of injecting drugs, the use of collaborative injection tools and unprotected sexual behavior were 61.5%, 43.1% and 40%, respectively. According to findings, the probable cause of the high-risk behavior for HIV infection in this study was similar to the national pattern. Risky behavior had significant changes in different directions after diagnosis.