Sexual, reproductive health and health status of female sex workers in 12 Brazilian cities, 2016

Abstract

Objective: To investigate differences in sexual, reproductive health and health status indicators of female sex workers in 12 Brazilian cities. Methods: Cross-sectional study of biological and behavioral surveillance survey with a minimum sample of 350 female sex workers per city, recruited by respondent driven sampling, in 2016. Complex sample design was considered in the data analysis. Indicators and 95% confidence intervals related to sexual and reproductive health, and health status were described separately by city and for the total sample. Results: The total sample consisted of 4,328 female sex workers. The coverage of Pap smear exam, human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis tests and antenatal care indicators varied by 20 percentages points or more. Pap smear exam coverage ranged from 53.4% in Recife to 73.0% in Porto Alegre. The highest percentage of female sex workers who had never been tested for human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis was in Fortaleza (36.8 and 63.8%, respectively). Antenatal coverage ranged from 61.1% in Salvador to 99.0% in Curitiba. In five cities, the proportion of female sex workers who disclosed their sex work status in health services was over 20.0%. Conclusion: The differences between the indicators in the 12 cities followed the Brazilian population profile, with more vulnerable sex workers in the North and Northeast regions. The results show that it is essential to consider the barriers to accessing health, such as stigma and discrimination, which restrict the addressing of female sex workers specific needs.

Maternal health and maternal health service utilization among female sex workers: A scoping review

“…During full-text reviews, seven publications were determined to have used the same datasets produced from three studies to report on similar outcomes. [37][38][39][40][41][42][43] These records were merged to represent the three studies and results from one publication per study were extracted for this review. In total, 18 peer-reviewed publications were included in this review.…”

“…As shown in Table 1 , studies were conducted in 11 different countries: the United States (n = 2), 38 , 44 the United Kingdom (n = 2), 45 , 46 India (n = 4), 47 – 50 South Africa (n = 2), 51 , 52 Tanzania (n = 2), 53 , 54 Brazil (n = 1), 41 Cameroon (n = 1), 40 Côte d’Ivoire (n = 1), 55 Bangladesh (n = 1), 56 Guinea-Bissau (n = 1), 57 and Papua New Guinea (n = 1). 58 The publication year of the included articles ranged from 1991 to 2022.…”

“…This proportion ranged from 35.2% in Salvador, Brazil to 80.6% in Porto Alegre, Brazil. 41 Four publications reported the prevalence of antenatal HIV/STI screening among FSWs. 48,52,55,58 For HIV screening, 94% of surveyed FSWs in Northern Karnataka, India 48 received antenatal HIV testing while lower screening prevalence was reported in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (55.4%) 52 and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (58.9%).…”

“…52 In contrast, 50.7% of FSWs in Madhya Pradesh, India, reported having skilled personnel attend a birth, as home births and traditional attendants were more commonly reported. 41 One publication reported data on PNC utilization. Among FSWs with recent birth experience in Dhaka, Bangladesh, more than 50% of women surveyed received no amount of postnatal care, while 23% had two or more PNC contacts.…”

Violências sofridas por mulheres imigrantes venezuelanas profissionais do sexo: um olhar interseccional

“…A percentagem das que relataram usar preservativo em todas as relações sexuais com parceiro fixo foi baixa, variando entre 34,8 e 38,9%, o que sugere relação de maior confiança com parceiros fixos. Nas relações sexuais com clientes, a porcentagem de uso de preservativo foi mais elevada, de 80,5 a 81,1% (25) .…”