| Sumario: | Aim/Objective: To assess the knowledge and practices of health care providers towards high-risk groups (HRGs) in order to maximize/better the services provided by health care workers to HRGs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 health care providers of various job categories involved in the TI program under TANSACS. The study included 100 NGO clusters; three health care providers per cluster were selected randomly and a semi-structured questionnaire was administered. Health care providers who were working in government hospitals for more than 3 months were selected. Results: Out of 300 health care providers, 130 (43%) were aware of gender policy and 276 (92%) were aware of STI/RTI services. The majority of the study participants (90%) had good awareness of basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS, the TI program, condom demonstration, stigma and discrimination and high-risk groups. Study participants who were in the job profile that is closely associated with the patients demonstrated better knowledge of TI activities. Similarly, health care providers in the clusters that had a tertiary level care centre nearby as a referral centre were observed to have more knowledge than their counterparts. Poor knowledge on pre-exposure prophylaxis (14%) was noted among the study participants. Conclusion: Knowledge gaps were identified among health care providers closely associated with HRGs. Continued training activities, especially for health workers in peripheral areas of the district, need to be undertaken to implement the TI program effectively.
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