Working to prevent HIV/STIs among women in the sex industry in a rural town of Hainan, China.
We evaluated a two-phase HIV/STIs prevention intervention for female sex workers in a resource-limited rural town in Hainan Province, China. The primary intervention strategy, conducted from 1997 to 2000, was a condom promotion campaign conducted through outreach to sex workers. Four serial cross-sectional surveys were carried out before and after the intervention. Over a period of 2 years, reported condom use during the most recent sexual encounter increased from about 50% to more than 70%; and condom use in more than 50% of sexual acts during the past 6 months increased from less than 40% to near 80% of respondents. Controlling for education, ethnicity and age, reading of educational materials (our intervention variable) was a significant contributor to a higher knowledge score, motivation to use condoms, and reported condom use. This study demonstrates that outreach to female sex workers, if appropriately tailored to local settings, can increase condom use in a resource-limited rural area.
Liao
Su-Su
SS
Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, 5 Dong Dan San Tiao, Beijing, 100005, China. susuliao@mx.cei.gov.cn
He
Qi-Ya
QY
Choi
Kyung-Hee
KH
Hudes
Esther S
ES
Liao
Jin-Fang
JF
Wang
Xiao-Chun
XC
Liu
Min
M
Pan
Wen-Li
WL
Mandel
Jeffrey S
JS
D017280:Condoms; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011203:Poverty; D012424:Rural Population; D021841:Safe Sex; D011477:Sex Work; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*