Substance use and HIV infection awareness among HIV-infected female sex workers in Lilongwe, Malawi.

ABSTRACT:

Background

HIV diagnosis, the first step in HIV care and treatment engagement, may be inhibited by substance use among female sex workers (FSW). We assessed the relationship between alcohol and cannabis use and lack of HIV infection awareness among HIV-infected FSW in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Methods

From July to September, 2014, 200 FSW aged ≥18 years were enrolled using venue-based sampling to examine substance use, HIV testing history, and serostatus ascertained by HIV rapid test. We used Poisson regression with robust variance estimates to estimate the associations of alcohol and cannabis use and lack of HIV infection awareness.

Results

Of the 138 HIV-infected FSW, 20% were unaware of their HIV infection, with 70% not testing within 6 months prior. According to the Alcoh

SUBMITTER: Lancaster KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4829472 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature