Background: Immigration officers are usually posted in a place for 3-5 years during which they are unaccompanied by their families. Dealing with the constant traffic crossing the border is a stressful task and the officers are sometimes exposed to incidents where transaction of sex may occur. Officers located in cross border towns are at a high risk of contracting HIV because they are in a position of power, which sometimes is being misused to get sex. Little has been done on immigration officers to determine their HIV susceptibility. The main objective of this study was to assess HIV risk perception and protective behaviors among immigration officers in Dar es Salaam region.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study using quantitative was conducted in Dar es Salaam region. The study involved a sample of 233 officers who participated and who filled self administered questionnaires. A stratified sampling strategy was used hence proportional allocation of officers into strata of commissioners, superintendents and junior offices. Data were checked on daily basis for completeness, coding was done and Social Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS) was used for data processing.