Analysis of condom use and its factors on female sex workers in Shandong province

This study was to investigate the condom use and its factors on sex workers in Shandong province, and to provide effective suggestions for AIDS prevention strategies and interventions.

From April to July in 2009, 4732 female sex workers were investigated through anonymous questionnaires from 11 cities which were selected based on the AIDS epidemic, geographic location, economic conditions in Shandong province. Serum samples were collected and antibodies were tested from 4641 people. 

4732 female sex workers who were 15 - 58 years old were investigated and the majority belonged to the low age group (≤ 24 years old) which accounted for 61.5% (2912/4732). Among the 4732 female sex workers, the unmarried, the divorced, or the widowed females accounted for 72.8%  and 72.0%  of them were poorly educated.42.3%  of them were found from other provinces.

The right answers for knowledge of AIDS accounted for 45.7%  80.6%   of these females were found to used condoms in the most recent commercial sex activity.

The rate of consistently using condoms in sex activity during the last month was 58.4% . In this survey, 7.3%  of investigated females had been diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases, 30.7%  of them had received HIV antibody test, 70.4%  of these people had received the AIDS intervention services, and 3.6% of them had ever used drug.

Conclusion

The prevalence rate of HIV infection among female sex workers was low in Shandong province. However, the low rate of condom use and the high prevalence of self-reported STD-related symptoms suggested that more attentions should be paid to the factors of risk behaviors, and more targeted interventions are critically needed.

(edited abstract)