178182 HIV Risk Behaviors and Health Status in Female Adult Film Performers

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 11:00 AM

Corita Grudzen, MD, MSHS , RWJ Clinical Scholars Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Daniella Meeker, PhD , RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
Jacqueline Torres, MPH, MA , School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Ronald M. Andersen, PhD , Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Lillian Gelberg, MD, MSPH , Family Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Context: Though a large and legal industry in the United States, adult film performers enjoy little to none of the mandated protections afforded workers in other industries. Adult film performers regularly engage in sexual acts without barriers protective against STDs including HIV. Little is known about other HIV risk behaviors in adult film performers or about their health status, and how these might be similar or different from a similar population of young women in California.

Objectives: 1) To describe HIV risk behaviors and health status (physical, mental, and social) among female adult film performers 2) To identify factors associated with HIV risk behaviors and health status in female adult film performers 3) To compare HIV risk behaviors and health status in female adult film performers and a demographically similar population of women in California.

Design: A structured web-based survey based on the 2007 California Women's Health Survey will be administered to a random sample of 200 female adult film performers recruited from a performer list. Participants will be eligible if they have performed in at least one adult film released in the prior six months that is available on the Adult DVD Empire website, which represents about 85% of all adult films produced each year. Performers who are eligible to participate will be recruited using their MySpace page, an online social networking site. They will be sent an email link to complete the survey.

Results and Conclusions will be available by October, 2008.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the HIV risk behaviors and health status of female adult film performers as compared to a similar group of young women in California. 2. Recognize differences in HIV risk behaviors and health status among female adult film performers. 3. Prioritize health needs for female adult film performers.

Keywords: Sex Workers, Women's Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I helped conceive of the study, methods and data analysis plan as well as drafted the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: “Business as Usual”: Unaddressed Worker Health and Safety Issues in the Adult Film Industry
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