Effect of a ‘diagonal’ intervention on uptake of HIV and reproductive health services by female sex workers in three sub-Saharan African cities

Abstract Background Despite the global agreements on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, access to and utilisation of these services among the youth/adolescents remain unsatisfactory in low- and middle-income countries which are a significant barrier to progress in this area. This review established factors influencing access and utilisation of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services (YFSRHS) among the youth in sub-Saharan Africa to inform programmatic interventions. Methodology A systematic review of studies published between January 2009 and April 2019 using PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline, and Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases was conducted. Studies were screened based on the inclusion criteria of barriers and facilitators of implementation of YFSRHS, existing national policies on provision of YFSRHS, and youth’s perspectives on these services. Findings A total of 23,400 studies were identified through database search and additional 5 studies from other sources. After the full-text screening, 20 studies from 7 countries met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Structural barriers were the negative attitude of health workers and their being unskilled and individual barriers included lack of knowledge among youth regarding YFSRHS. Facilitators of utilisation of the services were mostly structural in nature which included community outreaches, health education, and policy recommendations to improve implementation of the quality of health services and clinics for adolescents/youth to fit their needs and preferences. Conclusion Stakeholder interventions focusing on implementing YFSRHS should aim at intensive training of health workers and put in place quality implementation standard guidelines in clinics to offer services according to youth’s needs and preferences. In addition, educating the youth through community outreaches and health education programs for those in schools can facilitate utilisation and scale up of the service.

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Feasibility, acceptability and potential sustainability of a ‘diagonal’ approach to health services for female sex workers in Mozambique

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-018-3555-2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yves Lafort ◽

Malica Sofia Ismael de Melo ◽

Faustino Lessitala ◽

Sally Griffin ◽

Matthew Chersich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Female Sex ◽

Diagonal Approach

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Strategi Peer Educator untuk Peningkatan Kesadaran Pekerja Seks Perempuan terhadap Kesehatan Reproduksi

Jurnal Sosiologi Andalas ◽

10.25077/jsa.6.1.1-11.2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Lidya Febrina

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Health ◽

Social Exchange ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Social Exchange Theory ◽

Research Approach ◽

Peer Educators ◽

Descriptive Research ◽

Female Sex ◽

Peer Educator

This article presents the results of research on peer educator strategies to raise female sex workers' awareness of reproductive health. The objectives of this study were 1) to describe the strategies used by peer educators to build sex worker awareness of workers' reproductive health; 2) Identifying barriers to peer educators in providing education on reproductive health to female sex workers. To achieve the research objectives, the theory used is the Social Exchange Theory of George C, Homans and the research approach used is qualitative with descriptive research type. To obtain data, researchers used in-depth interviews and observation techniques. The results showe that the strategies used by peer educators in providing education about reproductive health were: coercion, giving advice, and persuasion. Meanwhile, the obstacles found by peer educators in providing education on reproductive health were: the imbalance of exchanges between peer educators and female sex workers and the distrust of female sex workers in peer educators.

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