Knowledge of sex workers about HIV/AIDS and its influence on sexual practices

ABSTRACT Objective: assess the knowledge of sex workers about HIV/AIDS and its influence on sexual practices. Method: Ninety women participated in the study. The Scientific Knowledge Test about HIV/AIDS and sexual practices was used. The Wald test was applied to verify the relationship between knowledge and sexual practices with statistical significance of p<0.05. Results: the score of 61.7% of correct answers in all three dimensions stands out; 72.2% have sexual intercourse without a condom in exchange for a large amount of money; 53.3% have sex during the menstrual period; 62.2% have sexual intercourse with drug users; 75.6% have sex with clients showing lesions on the penis or anus. The B coefficient (-0.19) showed that the higher the knowledge about HIV/AIDS, the lower the practice of risky sexual behaviors. Conclusion: the influence of knowledge about HIV/AIDS on sexual practices was not statistically significant, but the sexual practices and insufficient knowledge about prevention, physiological and behavioral attributes were observed.

摘要 研究目的：评估性工作者对艾滋病病毒/获得性免疫缺陷综合征（HIV/AIDS）的认知水平，及其对性行为的影响。研究方法：共有90名女性参与本研究，采用《艾滋病病毒/获得性免疫缺陷综合征及性行为相关科学知识测试量表》开展调查，运用瓦尔德检验（Wald test）验证认知水平与性行为间的关联，设定统计学显著性阈值为p<0.05。研究结果：三个维度的总正确率达61.7%；72.2%的参与者曾为获取高额报酬进行无安全套性行为；53.3%的参与者在经期发生性行为；62.2%的参与者与吸毒者发生性行为；75.6%的参与者与阴茎或肛周存在皮损的客户发生性行为。回归系数B值为-0.19，提示艾滋病病毒/获得性免疫缺陷综合征认知水平越高，危险性行为的发生率越低。研究结论：艾滋病病毒/获得性免疫缺陷综合征认知水平对性行为的影响未达到统计学显著性，但研究观察到参与者存在危险性行为，且在艾滋病预防、生理及行为属性相关知识方面存在不足。