FACTORS AFFECTING THE UTILIZATION OF VOLUNTARY COUNSELING AND TESTING (VCT) SERVICE AMONG FEMALE SEX WORKERS IN INDONESIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract Background Globally the adolescent and youths are facing different sexual and reproductive health problems like unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, STI including HIV.HIV / AIDS is continue to be a major global health priority. HIV counseling and testing is a key strategic entry point to prevention, treatment, care and support services .HIV/AIDS counseling is “confidential communication between client and a care provider aimed at enabling the client to cope with stress and to take personal decisions relating to HIV/AIDS.VCT give clients an opportunity to explore their HIV risks and to learn their HIV test results in complete confidence.Objective The objective of the study was to asses factors affecting voluntary counseling and testing service utilization among preparatory school students in Gondar town.Methods Institutional based cross-sectional study design was employed. A multistage sampling procedure was conducted in the study area. Data were collected using pretested self-administered questionnaire and the data entered, clean and analyzed by using SPSS version 16 software. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis were employed. Multivariate analysis with 95% CI was computed to identify factors associated with voluntary counseling and testing service utilization at P-value <0.05.Results A total of 654 study participants were included in the study with the response rate of 97%. The study indicated that 81.7% of study participants knew about voluntary counseling and testing services utilization .But the practice of voluntary counseling and testing was 48.3% with (95% CI: 44.5 -52.1).Based on the finding of multivariate analysis among independent variables, age, place of birth, mother’s educational level and discussed with parents on the issue of VCT were significantly associated with voluntary counseling and testing services utilization.Conclusion Majority of the study participants were not utilize voluntary counseling and testing services, only few respondents ever had VCT test as well as the proportion of students who had discussed on VCT issues with their parent was also very low. Cultural taboos was the main obstacle to students did not discuss with parents on the issue of VCT in the study area. Therefore; it needs great effort all concerned body to improve their services utilization. In broadly family life education should be encourage for the students and parents to promote VCT utilization.

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Correlates of HIV prevalence among female sex workers in four north and east Indian states: findings of a national bio-behavioural survey

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1177/0956462418799018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 120-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gunjika Misra ◽

Damodar Sahu ◽

Umenthala S Reddy ◽

Saritha Nair

Keyword(s):

Sex Work ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Uttar Pradesh ◽

Hiv Prevalence ◽

Indian States ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

East Indian ◽

Female Sex ◽

Behavioural Surveillance

The socio-demographic, sex work characteristics and the factors affecting HIV prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs) are not well known in low prevalence states showing rising trends within the HIV epidemic. This paper studies these attributes among FSWs in three north (Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) and one east Indian states (Jharkhand). Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS) data, collected from 4491 FSWs in the study states, were analysed, with HIV status as the dependent variable and several socio-demographic, sex work, knowledge and agency characteristics as independent variables. Multivariate analysis found a number of factors such as age above 25 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 5.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4–18.1), client solicitation in rented rooms (AOR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2–6.4) and the use of mobile phones for client solicitation (AOR 5.1, 95% CI 1.6–16.0) to be significantly associated with HIV risk. The study found low levels of HIV programme services uptake and HIV/AIDS knowledge among FSWs in the study states. There is an urgent need to focus on these risk factors for improving the effectiveness of the ongoing HIV prevention efforts and attaining the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ goal of ‘Ending the AIDS epidemic’ by 2030.

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Nurses’ attitudes toward female sex workers: A qualitative study

Nursing Ethics ◽

10.1177/0969733020961490 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 096973302096149

Author(s):

Haixia Ma ◽

Alice Yuen Loke

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Sex Workers ◽

Female Sex Workers ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Major Barrier ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Female Sex

Background: Stigma is considered a major barrier to accessing healthcare services by female sex workers. Current knowledge of nurses’ attitudes appears to imply a stigma toward female sex workers. But in-depth understanding of their perceptions is scarce. Furthermore, factors that inform a conceptual understanding of how this occurs are lacking. Objectives: The study aimed to explore nurses’ attitudes toward female sex workers and factors affecting caring for female sex workers. Research design: This was a qualitative study. A content analysis approach was adopted in analyzing the data. Participants and research context: Thirty-three practicing nurses participated in seven semi-structured focus group interviews and three key informants participated in three individual interviews in Hong Kong. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of one university in Hong Kong. Findings: The findings revealed three themes: (1) accept, stigmatize, or against sex work; (2) reluctance, hesitation, or willingness to care for female sex workers; and (3) factors affecting the care of female sex workers. Discussion and conclusion: This study found that nurses held different attitudes toward female sex workers, and they experienced feelings of reluctance, hesitation, or willingness to care for female sex workers. Multi-level factors could affect their level of comfort of caring for female sex workers. Intervention should be developed to encourage health professionals to examine their personal views toward female sex workers introspectively, how their attitude may have affected the provision of quality services, and to enhance the provision of sensitive non-discriminative services to female sex workers.

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