Social capital is important to disadvantaged groups, such as sex workers, as a means of facilitating internal group-related mutual aid and support as well as access to broader social and material resources. Studies among sex workers have linked higher social capital with protective HIV-related behaviors; however, few studies have examined social capital among sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa. ...

In this review of published findings on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and risk factors among female sex workers, we summarize the results of seroprevalence studies in different countries and discuss the different patterns of transmission among such workers in various geographical regions. The highest rates of HIV infection occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where the widespread existen...

BACKGROUND Unintended pregnancy is a significant public health concern in the world. Particularly, female sex workers are exposed to the risk of unintended pregnancy, abortion and their consequences. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess unintended pregnancy and associated factors among female sex workers in Mekelle city, northern Ethiopia. METHODS A community based cross-sectional ...

BACKGROUND Reducing harm associated with selling and purchasing sex is an important public health priority in China, yet there are few examples of sustainable, successful programs to promote sexual health among female sex workers. The limited civil society and scope of nongovernmental organizations circumscribe the local capacity of female sex workers to collectively organize, advocate for thei...

Sex workers draw a premium for engaging in unprotected sex. We theoretically motivate a test of whether this premium represents a compensating differential for disease, thereby mitigating sex workers’ propensity to use condoms. Using transactionlevel data and biological STI markers from sex workers in Ecuador, we exploit withinworker variation across local disease environments. We fi nd that lo...

At an HIV clinic in the Limpopo province of South Africa, chart reviews revealed long delays in addressing abnormal Pap smears, difficulty in referrals, poor quality and lost results, and increasing cases of cervical cancer. To address these barriers, a "see and treat" approach to screening was proposed. The objective was to integrate this method into current HIV care offered by local providers...

INTRODUCTION Virtually no African country provides HIV prevention services in sex work settings with an adequate scale and intensity. Uncertainty remains about the optimal set of interventions and mode of delivery. METHODS We systematically reviewed studies reporting interventions for reducing HIV transmission among female sex workers in sub-Saharan Africa between January 2000 and July 2011. ...