{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T05:34:16Z","timestamp":1764912856955,"version":"3.46.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764720000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University","award":["006\/2566"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["006\/2566"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100025469","name":"Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["2565-091"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2565-091"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100025469","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sex workers were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to precarious working conditions. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 among 264 sex workers in Chiang Mai, Thailand, during the transition to the endemic phase, to evaluate their COVID-19 knowledge and preventive practices. Face-to-face interviews were used. Descriptive statistics were used to describe sample characteristics. Factors associated with knowledge and preventive practices were identified using the Mann\u2013Whitney U test or Kruskal\u2013Wallis test as appropriate. Independent factors associated with preventive practices were assessed through linear regression. The median scores for knowledge and preventive practices were 10 (interquartile range (IQR) = 9\u201310) and 5 (IQR = 3\u20135), respectively. In univariate analysis, females scored higher in knowledge than males. For preventive practices, females vs. males, older vs. younger, heterosexual vs. homosexual\/bisexual, longer vs. shorter career, worked in massage parlors vs. pubs\/bars, and having child vs. none showed higher rates. In multivariate analysis, being male (\u03b2 = \u22121.87; 95%CI; \u22120.87 to \u22120.88) and single (\u03b2 = \u22121.15; 95%CI; \u22122.28 to \u22120.02) were independent predictors of lower rates of preventive practices. Despite having good knowledge, certain groups of sex workers\u2019 COVID-19 preventive behaviors remain inadequate, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to enhance pandemic preparedness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph22121814","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T15:02:48Z","timestamp":1764774168000},"page":"1814","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Knowledge and Preventive Practices Toward COVID-19 Among Sex Workers in Chiang Mai, Thailand"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Sameen","family":"Ashfaq","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1683-4259","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kriengkrai","family":"Srithanaviboonchai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patumrat","family":"Sripan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9096-6372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arunrat","family":"Tangmunkongvorakul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Natthapol","family":"Kosashunhanan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"157","article-title":"WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic","volume":"91","author":"Cucinotta","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Biomed."},{"unstructured":"Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Government of Thailand (2025, September 01). 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