Abstract:
Immunodeficiency is a significant health problem among prisoners living with HIV in prison overcrowding. Which requires appropriate health promotion behaviors. This predictive correlational research aimed to describe health promoting behaviors and to determine factors influencing health promoting behaviors. Multi-stage random sampling was used to recruit 200 male prisoners living with HIV in prisons Bangkok. Data were collected from July to September 2021. Research instruments included a demographic questionnaire, a self-esteem questionnaire, a perceived benefits questionnaire, a perceived barriers questionnaire, a perceived self- efficiency questionnaire, a social support questionnaire, and a health promoting behaviors questionnaire (Cronbachs alpha coefficient = 0.80-0.94). Descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression statistics were performed to analyze the data. The results revealed that the overall of the health promoting behaviors of male prisoners living with HIV was at a high level. The health responsibility, interpersonal relation, and spiritual growth dimensions were rated at high levels. While physical activity and stress management dimensions were rated at medium level. The perceived self-efficacy (β = 0.404,p< .001), the perceived barriers (β = -0.209, p< .001), the perceived benefits (β = 0.235,p< .001), and the perceived social support (β = 0.184, p= .002), could predict 47.1% of the variance accounted for the overall of the health promoting behaviors (R 2 = .482, R 2 adj= .471,p< .001). These findings suggest that the administrators, nurses, and other health personnel who work in prisons should address for enhancing the health promoting behaviors of male prisoners living with HIV through program development by focusing on improving the perceived self-efficacy and benefits of the behaviors, decreasing perceived barriers to action, and also encouraging social networks to support. Consequently, the male prisoners living with HIV can be enhanced appropriate health promoting behaviors in order to improve their health.