Where do sex workers go for health care? A community based study in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Vuylsteke, B.; Ghys, P.D.; Mah-bi, G.; Konan, Y.; Traoré, M.; Wiktor, S.Z.; Laga, M.
Sexually Transmitted Infections 77(5): 351-352
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 1368-4973 PMID: 11588281 DOI: 10.1136/sti.77.5.351Document Number: 244239
To describe health seeking behaviour of female sex workers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. A population based survey among a representative sample of 500 female sex workers and six focus group discussions. The sites of first encounter for care for the last STI episode included a public hospital or health centre (28%), a private clinic (16%), a confidential clinic (13%), a pharmacy (13%), and the informal sector (23%). The agreement between preferred and actual services used was weak (kappa 0.16). Sex workers expressed interest in seeking STI care in a wide range of public and private healthcare facilities. Those services should be upgraded to better respond to their sexual health needs.