Abstract
Background: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is increasing over time, leading to a significant number of life losses. According to the USAID 2018 report, 36.9 million (35.1 million adults) people globally were living with HIV, 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV, and 940 000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2017. Mining workers are at high risk of acquiring HIV and infecting others, while successful preventive m easures are a key solution. Objective: To assess HIV preventive behaviors among gold mining workers in Dima district, southwest Ethiopia, 2019Methods and materials: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1st to 31st, 2019. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews. The collected data were coded and entered into Epidata version 4.2.0.101, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS version 21 statistical software. A binary logistic regression was conducted to determine the association using odds ratios at 95% confidence intervals. A P-value of less than 0.05 considered as the level of significance for HIV preventive behaviors. Results: Of 279 (61.3%) of the respondents have good practices of HIV prevention. Factors associated with good preventive practice were not alcohol drinkers (AOR= 2.86, 95%CI:1.30-6.29), not chew Khat (AOR= 2.09, 95%CI: 1.09-4.02), having good knowledge about HIV (AOR=1.81, CI:1.16-2.83), favorable attitude towards HIV prevention (AOR=4.76, 95%CI:3.02-7.49), and high perceived susceptibility to HIV were (AOR=2.63, 95%CI:1.63-4.24).Conclusion: Only about 61% of the mining workers in the study area were practiced HIV preventive behaviors. Not alcohol drinkers, having good knowledge about HIV, having a favorable attitude toward HIV prevention, and having high perceived susceptibility to HIV were factors associated with the practice of HIV preventive behaviors. Efforts have to be made by local governments and other concerned bodies to increase preventive behavior.