Alcohol and condom use among HIV-positive and HIV-negative female sex workers in Nagaland, India
Nuken, A.; Kermode, M.; Saggurti, N.; Armstrong, G.; Medhi, G.K.
International Journal of Std and Aids 24(9): 695-702
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1758-1052 PMID: 23970581 DOI: 10.1177/0956462413480722Document Number: 576283
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.