Non-barrier contraceptive use and relation to condom use behaviour by partner type among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India

Elizabeth Reed; Jennifer Toller Erausquin; Monica Biradavolu; Argentina E Servin; Kim M Blankenship

doi:10.1136/jfprhc-2014-100918

Non-barrier contraceptive use and relation to condom use behaviour by partner type among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India

J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care. 2017 Jan;43(1):60-66. doi: 10.1136/jfprhc-2014-100918. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Authors

Elizabeth Reed¹, Jennifer Toller Erausquin², Monica Biradavolu³, Argentina E Servin⁴, Kim M Blankenship⁵

Affiliations

¹ Assistant Professor, Division of Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
² Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA.
³ Scholar in Residence, Department of Sociology, American University, Washington, DC, USA.
⁴ Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁵ Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, American University, Washington, DC, USA.

Abstract

Objective: The study assessed non-barrier contraceptive use among female sex workers (FSW) in Andhra Pradesh, India and relation to inconsistent condom use among commercial and non-commercial male sexual partners.

Methods: FSW at least 18 years of age (n=2338) were recruited through respondent-driven sampling for an HIV risk survey. Analysis was restricted to women of childbearing age (n=2197). Crude and adjusted logistic regression models were used to assess non-barrier contraceptive use and relation to inconsistent condom use with husbands or regular male partners (i.e. non-clients), regular clients and occasional clients.

Results: Non-barrier methods of contraception included contraceptive pills (3.8%) and sterilisation (68.4%). In logistic regression models adjusted for relevant demographics, FSW using contraceptive pills were more likely to report inconsistent condom use with a regular client (past week) [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-4.0] and with an occasional client (past week) (AOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.6-5.3), as well as accepting more money for sex without a condom (past 30 days) (AOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.5-4.3). No significant associations were found between pill use and inconsistent condom use among women's non-client partners, potentially related to small sample sizes within these subgroups. Reporting sterilisation, which was more common among FSW who were older in age, was not associated with inconsistent condom use with client or non-client sexual partners.

Conclusions: Findings document potential unmet need for modern, spacing contraceptives (i.e. pill, intrauterine device), but also indicate the importance for family planning services, particularly those promoting modern contraceptive methods to be provided alongside HIV prevention among FSW in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Keywords: India; condom; family planning service provision; sex workers; sexually transmitted infections.

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Abstract

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