Socio-demographic characteristics, indicators of community collectivisation, experience of STIs and STI treatment-seeking behaviour by the project partnership with government health system among female sex workers in five districts of Andhra Pradesh, India
| Socio-demographic characteristics | Total sample (N=1986) | Project partnership with government health facilities | ||
| Yes (n=1116) | No (n=870) | p Value* | ||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 29.2 (5.3) | 29.1 (5.1) | 29.3 (5.5) | 0.533 |
| Any formal schooling | 917 (46.2) | 512 (45.9) | 405 (46.6) | 0.765 |
| Currently married | 1134 (57.1) | 665 (59.6) | 469 (53.9) | 0.011 |
| Typology of sex work | ||||
| Homes | 566 (28.5) | 358 (32.1) | 208 (23.9) | <0.001 |
| Public places (streets, highways, parks) | 1267 (63.8) | 711 (63.7) | 556 (63.9) | 0.927 |
| Brothels or lodges | 153 (7.7) | 47 (4.2) | 106 (12.2) | <0.001 |
| Mean duration of sex work (SD) | 4.4 (2.4) | 4.3 (2.4) | 4.5 (2.5) | 0.086 |
| Indicators of community collectivisation | ||||
| Collective efficacy: high | 1768 (89.0) | 1027 (92.0) | 741 (85.1) | <0.001 |
| Collective agency: high | 1006 (50.7) | 630 (56.5) | 376 (43.2) | <0.001 |
| Collective action: high | 253 (12.7) | 156 (14.0) | 97 (11.1) | 0.054 |
| Overall: high† | 785 (39.5) | 463 (41.5) | 322 (37.0) | 0.042 |
| Self-efficacy for service utilisation | 1276 (64.3) | 753 (67.5) | 523 (60.1) | 0.001 |
| Any STI symptoms, past 1 year | 1014 (51.1) | 544 (48.4) | 470 (54.0) | 0.021 |
| Taken treatment from government health facilities‡ | 708 (69.8) | 389 (71.5) | 319 (67.8) | 0.199 |
↵* p Values are obtained by testing the significance of differences in percentages (Z-test) and mean values (t test) between the groups.
↵† Refers to the summary measure of collectivisation.
↵‡ Among those who reported at least one of the following STI symptoms in the past 1 year: (1) genital sores/ulcers, (2) yellowish/greenish discharge from the vagina and (3) lower abdominal pain.
STI, sexually transmitted infections; SD, Standard deviation