Abstract
This was the third cross-sectional survey conducted in Nakhon Ratchasima Province
in 2006 to follow up the surveillance of a cluster of female sex workers whose behaviors
potentially put them at risk of contracting HIV infection, and to verify their knowledge
about HIV. A one-stage cluster sample with equal probability was used to select the
brothels where the women worked. All the female sex workers willing to participate were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection.
A total of 147 female sex workers participated in the survey; their average age was
30.4 years. Only 34.6 percent of them were capable of answering correctly all of the five
UNGASS knowledge questions. The rate of condom use with clients in the previous
week was 99.2 percent. In the previous month, 46.3 and 36.7 percent of them had sex with
their spouse and none-client partners, respectively. The rates of condom use with spouse
and none-client partners in the previous month were 30.8 and 79.6 percent, respectively.
The drug addiction rate and rate of injecting drug use in the previous year were rare, only
0.7 and 4.1 percent, respectively. In the previous six months, 78.2 percent of the female
sex workers had participated in voluntary HIV counseling and undergone anti-HIV testing.
From the results of this survey, it is obvious that female sex workers in Nakhon
Ratchasima Province still need to improve their knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Their regular
condom use needs to be extended to cover all types of sexual partners.
This was the third cross-sectional survey conducted in Nakhon Ratchasima Province
in 2006 to follow up the surveillance of a cluster of female sex workers whose behaviors
potentially put them at risk of contracting HIV infection, and to verify their knowledge
about HIV. A one-stage cluster sample with equal probability was used to select the
brothels where the women worked. All the female sex workers willing to participate were included in the study. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection.
A total of 147 female sex workers participated in the survey; their average age was
30.4 years. Only 34.6 percent of them were capable of answering correctly all of the five
UNGASS knowledge questions. The rate of condom use with clients in the previous
week was 99.2 percent. In the previous month, 46.3 and 36.7 percent of them had sex with
their spouse and none-client partners, respectively. The rates of condom use with spouse
and none-client partners in the previous month were 30.8 and 79.6 percent, respectively.
The drug addiction rate and rate of injecting drug use in the previous year were rare, only
0.7 and 4.1 percent, respectively. In the previous six months, 78.2 percent of the female
sex workers had participated in voluntary HIV counseling and undergone anti-HIV testing.
From the results of this survey, it is obvious that female sex workers in Nakhon
Ratchasima Province still need to improve their knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Their regular
condom use needs to be extended to cover all types of sexual partners.
