Vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Infections in women who sell sex on the route of prostitution and sex tourism in Central Brazil

Authors

  • Marcos Andre de Matos Universidade Federal de Goias; Faculdade de Medicina
  • Karlla Antonieta Amorim Caetano Universidade Federal de Goias; Faculdade de Medicina
  • Divania Dias da Silva Franca Universidade Federal de Goias; Faculdade de Medicina
  • Raquel Silva Pinheiro Universidade Federal de Goias; Faculdade de Enfermagem
  • Luciene Carneiro de Moraes Secretaria Municipal de Saude de Jatai
  • Sheila Araujo Teles Universidade Federal de Goias; Faculdade de Enfermagem

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692013000400011

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: to investigate knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), STD-related risk behaviors, and signs/symptoms of STDs among female sex workers (FSWs). METHODS: a cross-sectional study was conducted with a probabilistic sample comprising 395 women recruited using a respondent-driven sampling method between 2009 and 2010. The data were collected during face-to-face interviews. RESULTS: most of the participants were young adults, had a low educational level, and had poor knowledge on the transmission paths of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Over one-third of the participants were not able to describe the signs/symptoms of STDs. The prevalence rates of vaginal discharge and wounds/ulcers were 49.0% and 8.6%, respectively, but 41.7% of the women had not sought treatment. CONCLUSION: the results indicate the need for public health policies focusing on the control and prevention of STDs in this population, especially for the FSWs who are active in an important prostitution and sex tourism route in central Brazil.

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Published

2013-07-01

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 4 (2013)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
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 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Matos, M. A. de, Caetano, K. A. A., Franca, D. D. da S., Pinheiro, R. S., Moraes, L. C. de, & Teles, S. A. (2013). Vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Infections in women who sell sex on the route of prostitution and sex tourism in Central Brazil . Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 21(4), 906-912. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692013000400011