Alcohol and condom use among HIV-positive and HIV-negative female sex workers in Nagaland, India. (September 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nuken, Amenla; Kermode, Michelle; Saggurti, Niranjan; Armstrong, Greg; Medhi, Gajendra Kumar
• Is Part Of: International journal of STD & AIDS. Volume 24:Number 9(2013)
• Page Start: 695
• Page End: 702
• Publication Date: 2013-09
• Subjects: Female sex workers -- alcohol -- HIV -- AIDS -- sexual risk behaviour -- sexually transmitted infections -- condom use -- India; Sexually transmitted diseases -- Periodicals; AIDS (Disease) -- Periodicals; 616.951
• DOI: 10.1177/0956462413480722
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-4624

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between alcohol use, HIV status, and condom use among female sex workers in Nagaland, India. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey undertaken in 2009, using descriptive and multivariate statistics. Out of 417 female sex workers, one-fifth used alcohol daily and one-tenth were HIV-positive. HIV-positive female sex workers were more likely than HIV-negative female sex workers to consume alcohol daily (30.2% vs. 18.0%). HIV-positive daily alcohol users reported lower condom use at last sex with regular clients compared to HIV-positive non-daily alcohol users (46.2% vs. 79.3%), a relationship not evident among HIV-negative female sex workers. There is a need to promote awareness of synergies between alcohol use and HIV, and to screen for problematic alcohol use among female sex workers in order to reduce the spread of HIV.