Condom Utilization & Sexual Behavior of Female Sex Workers in Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sexually transmitted infections are among the most important public health problems in the world. People who indulge in unsafe sex, such as female sex workers are the most at risk population groups due to multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use. The aim of this study was to assess condom utilization and sexual behavior of female sex workers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia.

A quantitative cross-sectional study triangulated with qualitative method was conducted from March 20 - April 10, 2014 in Gondar town. The quantitative data were collected through interviewing 488 female sex workers while in-depth interview was administered to collect qualitative data from 10 female sex workers. The collected data were entered into EPI-INFO version 3.5.3 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 software for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was done to determine the association between condom utilization and independent variables.

This study revealed that less than half (47.7%) of the respondents utilized condom with any type of client. Secondary education or above, perceiving themselves at risk of HIV/AIDS infection, having awareness that sexually transmitted infections could increase HIV infection, being tested for HIV/AIDS in the last 12 months, and having lower number of clients in a month were positively associated with condom utilization.

This finding depicted that condom utilization was low among female sex workers. Thus, developing and implementing target oriented behavioral change and communication strategies are needed to prevent the risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections in female sex workers.

Table 4: condom utilization and sexual behavior of FSWs in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2014
Variable	Frequency	Percent
Median number of clients in the last one month
<13	306	62.7
>13	182	37.3
Used condom for sex with non-regular partners in the last one month
Yes	411	84.2
No	77	15.8
Used condom for sex with regular partners in the last one month
Yes	351	71.9
No	137	28.1
Used condom for sex with boyfriend /husband  in the last one month
Yes	160	39.0
No	247	50.6
I don't have boyfriend/husband	81	16.6
Used condom for sex with  all types of partners in the last one month
Yes	233	47.7
No	255	52.3
Faced incidence of condom breakage during sex in the last one month
Yes	160	32.8
No	328	67.2
Faced incidence of condom slipping during sex  in the last one month
Yes	109	22.3
No	379	77.7
Amount of payment for one night(ETB)
< mean (203)	322	66
> 203	166	34
Common clients
Driver	400	82.0
Merchant	375	76.8
Daily laborer	275	56.4
Civil servant	237	48.6
Student Others	182 16	37.3 3.3
Drank alcohol in the last one month
Yes	360	73.8
No	128	26.2
Faced violence in the last one month
Yes	185	37.9
No	303	62.1
Type of violence
Physical	104	55.6
Sexual & refusal to pay money	120	64.8
Psychological	90	48.1

Full article at:  http://ht.ly/SLx6m 

By:  Tamene MM1, Tessema GA2, Beyera GK3.

• 1Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara, Amhara Regional State, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
• 2Department of Reproductive Health, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
• 3Department of Environmental and Occupational and Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. 

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