Factors Associated with Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Sexual Workers; An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21649/akemu.v30i2.5508Keywords:
Commercial Sex Worker, HIV, Sexually Transmitted DiseasesAbstract
Background: Sex workers in underdeveloped nations, due to their social marginalised working conditions, have little to no control over a variety of risk factors of unprotected sexual activity.
Objectives: To measure the associated factors of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among commercial sex workers in Lahore.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study included 280 commercial sex workers from June to November 2022 in different areas of Lahore. Sample was collected by snow-ball sampling technique using a structured questionnaire. SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. To determine associations between STD status and their lifestyle preferences, chi-square test and the binary logistic test were utilized; a p value of 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Among total 280 commercial sex workers, there were 60(21.4%) females, 123(43.9%) males and 97(34.6%) transgenders. One hundred and ninety (67.8%) were aware of STD’s and 90(32.1%) were not. Out of 205 sex workers who underwent serological tests for STD’s, 150(53.6%) were tested positive for HIV. Bivariate analysis of lifestyle choices and STD diagnosis roles of commercial sex workers showed significant association of STD status with cigarette smoking (p=0.028), alcohol abuse(p=0.038), average price charged per sexual encounter (p=0.020), use of condom (p=0.010), awareness regarding STDs(p=0.000), intent to get tested for STD(p=0.001) and seeking treatment for STDs (p=0.000).
Conclusion: Sexually transmitted diseases were found in 73.2% of sexual workers. Cigarette smoking, Alcohol abuse, less average Price per sexual encounter were significantly higher in STD positive sexual workers. Regarding the knowledge of STDs, intent to get tested again and participate in prevention programs was higher in STD positive sexual workers of Lahore
References
Workie HM, Kassie TW, Hailegiyorgis TT. Knowledge, risk perception, and condom utilization pattern among female sex workers in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia 2016: a cross-sectional study, Pan Afr. Med. J. Conf. Proc. 2019;32(1):185.
Pitpitan EV, Rocha-Jimenez T, Salazar M, Chavarin C, Magis-Rodriguez C. A mixed methods analysis of the venue-related social and structural context of drug use during sex among male clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico. AID S Behav. 2020; 24(3):724-37.
Llangarí-Arizo LM, Sadiq ST, Márquez C, Cooper P, Furegato M, Zhou L. Sexually transmitted infections and factors associated with risky sexual practices among female sex workers: A cross sectional study in a large Andean city. PloS one. 2021;16(5):e0250117.
Marco MH, Ferraris S, Langsam M. Young population, sexually-transmitted diseases and rights.National and regional scenario in Argentina. Cien Saude Colet. 2018; 23(9):2835-2848.
UNAIDS. Global HIV & AIDS statistics - fact sheet 2023. Available from: https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet. [Accessed: 30 may 2023]
Platt L, Grenfell P, Meiksin R, Elmes J, Sherman SG, Sanders T, et al . Associations between sex work laws and sex workers’ health: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies. PLoS medicine. 2018;15(12):e1002680.
Lai J, Qin C, Nehl EJ, Jiang J, Huang Y, Liang B. HIV prevalence among female sex workers in Guigang City, Guangxi, China: an 8-year consecutive cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):1-8.
Atif M, Khalil R, Bilal B. Prevalence of condom use and associated factors among female sex workers in Karachi, Pakistan. IJCRR . 2015;7(23):40.
World Health Organization. Assessment of country implementation of the WHO global health sector strategy for sexually transmitted infections (2016–2021): Results of a national survey.
Manzoor I, Khan ZH, Tariq R, Shahzad R. Health problems & barriers to healthcare services for the transgender community in Lahore, Pakistan. PJMS. 2022;38(1):138.
Jiang T, Pan X, Ma Q, et al. Characteristics of low-tier female sex workers who engage in commercial sex with old male clients in Zhejiang province, China: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open. 2021;11(11):e049410.
Alemayehu M, Yohannes G, Damte A, et al. Prevalence and predictors of sexual violence among commercial sex workers in Northern Ethiopia. Reproductive health. 2015;12(1):1-7.
Bitty-Anderson AM, Gbeasor-Komlanvi FA, Tchankoni MK, et al. HIV prevalence and risk behaviors among female sex workers in Togo in 2017: a cross-sectional national study. Arch Pub Health . 2022;80(1):1-8.
Markovic L, Schönherr D, Zandonella M, Gil-Salmeron A, Smith L, McDermott D,et al. Associations between workplace characteristics and ‘outness’ in LGBTI workers in Austria. OEM . 2022;79(1):10-6..
Hakim AJ, Ogwal M, Doshi RH, Kiyingi H, Sande E, Serwadda D,et al. At the intersection of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services: use of moderately effective family planning among female sex workers in Kampala, Uganda. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2022 17;22(1):646.
Minuta WD, Mashalla Y, Gloria GT. Sexual Practices among Cobblestone Construction Workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Challenge to the Prevention of HIV Infection. Glob. J. Health Sci. 2022;14(8):39-49.
Mir F, Mahmood F, Siddiqui AR, Baqi S, Abidi SH, Kazi AM, et al. HIV infection predominantly affecting children in Sindh, Pakistan, 2019: a cross-sectional study of an outbreak. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2020;20(3):362-70.
Anteneh ZA, Agumas YA, Tarekegn M. Sexually transmitted diseases among female commercial sex workers in Finote Selam town, northwest Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study. HIV/AIDS-Research and Palliative Care. 2017;9(1):43-9.
Benoit C, Jansson SM, Smith M, Flagg J. Prostitution stigma and its effect on the working conditions, personal lives, and health of sex workers. JSR . 2018;55(4-5):457-71.
Shannon K, Crago AL, Baral SD, Bekker LG, Kerrigan D, Decker MR, et al. The global response and unmet actions for HIV and sex workers. The Lancet. 2018. 25;392(10148):698-710.
Abelson A, Lyons C, Decker M, Ketende S, Mfochive Njindam I, Fouda G, et al. Lifetime experiences of gender-based violence, depression and condom use among female sex workers in Cameroon. Int. J. Soc. Psychiatry. 2019;65(6):445-57.
Mafuta EM, Dieleman MA, Essink L, Khomba PN, Zioko FM, Mambu TN, et al. Participatory approach to design social accountability interventions to improve maternal health services: a case study from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Global health research and policy. 2017;2(1):1-6.
Andrews CH, Faxelid E, Sychaerun V, Phrasisombath K. Determinants of consistent condom use among female sex workers in Savannakhet, Lao PDR. BMC Women's Health. 2015;15(1):1-8.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Annals of King Edward Medical University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access journal and all the published articles / items are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For comments publications@kemu.edu.pk