244224 Mobility and sex trading with female sex workers among men in Uzbekistan

Monday, October 31, 2011

Alex Smolak, MSW , Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Columbia University, New York, NY
Nabila El-Bassel, DSW , School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY
Anne Malin, PhD , Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Columbia University, New York, NY
Louisa Gilbert, PhD , Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Columbia University, New York, NY
Assel Terlikbayeva, MD , Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Salkynai Samatova, BA , Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Columbia University, New York, NY
Background: Uzbekistan has the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world, with an 1143% increase in prevalence from 2001 to 2007 (UNAIDS, 2008). In 2007, HIV prevalence rate was estimated at 0.08% in the general population and 4.7% among female sex workers (FSW). Since the breakdown of the Soviet Union, communities have become dispersed due to migration for employment. Uzbekistan has a large migration population and high rate of mobility among men. The purpose of this presentation is to examine mobility and sex trading with FSW among men in Uzbekistan.

Methods: The Demographic and Health Survey was used for this presentation. The sample was most recurrently collected in 2002 and consisted of 2,333 men between the ages of 15 and 59. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between sex trading and mobility adjusting for age, education, marital status, ethnicity, and employment status.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 31.4. Two hundred and sixty-two men (11.2%) reported engaging in sex trading and 11 (0.7%) reported using condoms with their spouse, and 128 (48.3%) reported using condom with FSW. Participants reporting having spent nights away from home in the past year were more likely to engage in sex trading (OR = 3.04; CI: 1.963, 4.705) and less likely to use condoms during sex trading (OR = 1.05; CI: 0.615, 1.079).

Conclusions: High levels of mobility and sex trading with low levels of condom use have important implications for HIV prevention intervention that will be discussed in this presentation.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
To discuss how sex trading, mobility, and HIV are connected among men in a low resource setting and the prevention strategies needed to address this problem.

Keywords: Sex Workers, Migrant Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am at the end of my doctoral training in social work and epidemiology with a focus on HIV prevention in Central Asia.
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.

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