ISSN: 2578-4838
Authors: Azuonwu O*, Ogoloma QG and Ihua N
The study comparatively evaluated the epidemiological distribution of HIV infection among brothel-based and non-brothelbased female sex workers in Port Harcourt. This cross-sectional study design employed venue/facility-based profiling and obtained unequal sample distribution, with more brothel-based, 108 (54%), compared to non-brothel-based, 92 (46%). Recruitment was through a multi-stage sampling with strict adherence to ethical guidelines and diagnostic protocol. The study followed standard clinical laboratory practices for HIV screening using HIV screening kit protocol. The study reported a general prevalence of 29 (14.5%), greater than the venue-specific prevalence among brothel FSWs (13.0%) but less than the prevalence among non-brothel-based FSWs (16.3%). Risk assessment showed no significance with an odd ratio of 1.308 (95% Confidence Interval = 0.595 to 2.877). There was also a relative risk of 1.139 (95% confidence interval = 0.763 to 1.699) and 0.871 (95% confidence interval = 0.590 to 1.284) for brothel-based female sex workers and non-brothel-based female sex workers, respectively. Despite the reported decline in HIV prevalence among FSWs in this study, the prevalence is still higher than the national prevalence in Nigeria. An enhanced expansion of HIV prevention intervention programs is crucial, even as the measure would help to curtail the trend among these high-risk populations.
Keywords: HIV; Infection; Brothel-Based; Non-Brothel Based; Female Sex Workers; Predisposing Risk Factors; Port Harcourt
