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Risks of AIDS among workers in the "sex industry": some initial results from a Scottish study
R M Thomas1, M A Plant, M L Plant
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Morningside Park.
Objective:
To determine the extent to which workers in the "sex industry" in Edinburgh engage in activities with a high risk of infection with HIV.
Design:
Cross sectional, single phase survey in which respondents were located by a non-random method ("snowballing").
Setting:
Research project coordinated by the Alcohol Research Group, Edinburgh.
Subjects:
205 Sex workers (102 male, 103 female) interviewed between July and December 1988.
End Point:
Strategies to reduce risk of AIDS among people who buy and sell sexual services.
Measurements And Main Results:
Data were elicited by a standardised interview which related to over 300 variables. A fifth of the study group had used drugs intravenously, and one in 12 reported that they had been found to be seropositive on HIV testing. Roughly a quarter of the study group sometimes engaged in unprotected sex with clients for more money, and a similar proportion sometimes did not seek medical advice even if they had genital or anal symptoms.
Conclusions:
People who buy and sell sexual services should be priority targets for health education and strategies to reduce their risk of AIDS.