Article: Acceptability Study of Sex Workers Attending the HIV/ AIDS Clinic in Ruili, China

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TitleAcceptability Study of Sex Workers Attending the HIV/ AIDS Clinic in Ruili, China
AuthorsWong, WCW1 2
KeywordsChina
Health service
HIV
Prostitution
Qualitative survey
Issue Date2003
PublisherThe Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.apacph.org/journal.asp
CitationAsia-Pacific Journal Of Public Health, 2003, v. 15 n. 1, p. 57-61 [How to Cite?]
AbstractA charitable clinic was set up to provide HIV/STD education and care to commercial sex workers in Ruili. Despite regular promotion of the clinic, few people had utilised the service. Therefore, a qualitative study was carried out among 89 sex workers between March and April 2001 to look at the background of our target group, their medical-seeking behaviours and the range of services expected. The turnover rates of sex workers were high. They had good awareness but poor knowledge of STD/HIV. Many self-medicated or sought advice from peers. They had a serious concern for private practitioners or the quality of drugs from pharmacy stores. They found our clinic inconvenient and did not meet their needs. Subsequently, we refurbished the clinic, implemented changes and retrained our staff. The number of patients treated three weeks after re-opening of the clinic has increased by three folds, with many of them still sex workers, and the clinic's income increased by 58%. Our experience has important implications for policymakers and other NGOs working with sex workers.
ISSN1010-5395
2011 Impact Factor: 1.056
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.051
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorWong, WCW
dc.date.accessioned2011-03-28T09:24:47Z
dc.date.available2011-03-28T09:24:47Z
dc.date.issued2003
dc.description.abstractA charitable clinic was set up to provide HIV/STD education and care to commercial sex workers in Ruili. Despite regular promotion of the clinic, few people had utilised the service. Therefore, a qualitative study was carried out among 89 sex workers between March and April 2001 to look at the background of our target group, their medical-seeking behaviours and the range of services expected. The turnover rates of sex workers were high. They had good awareness but poor knowledge of STD/HIV. Many self-medicated or sought advice from peers. They had a serious concern for private practitioners or the quality of drugs from pharmacy stores. They found our clinic inconvenient and did not meet their needs. Subsequently, we refurbished the clinic, implemented changes and retrained our staff. The number of patients treated three weeks after re-opening of the clinic has increased by three folds, with many of them still sex workers, and the clinic's income increased by 58%. Our experience has important implications for policymakers and other NGOs working with sex workers.
dc.description.naturelink_to_subscribed_fulltext
dc.identifier.citationAsia-Pacific Journal Of Public Health, 2003, v. 15 n. 1, p. 57-61 [How to Cite?]
dc.identifier.epage61
dc.identifier.issn1010-5395
2011 Impact Factor: 1.056
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.051
dc.identifier.issue1
dc.identifier.pmid14620499
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-0037958859
dc.identifier.spage57
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/132463
dc.identifier.volume15
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherThe Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.apacph.org/journal.asp
dc.publisher.placeMalaysia
dc.relation.ispartofAsia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.subjectChina
dc.subjectHealth service
dc.subjectHIV
dc.subjectProstitution
dc.subjectQualitative survey
dc.titleAcceptability Study of Sex Workers Attending the HIV/ AIDS Clinic in Ruili, China
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong
  2. Chinese University of Hong Kong