SEARCHCROSS-SECTIONALepidemiology, public health

cross-sectional·epidemiology, public health, family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry·PMC10045590

Poly-drug use among female and male commercial sex workers visiting a drop in centre in Mombasa County, Kenya

PLOS Global Public Health · 9 authors, 5 centres

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FIDELITY 100%

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TL;DR

This cross-sectional study assessed self-reported and saliva-confirmed drug use among 224 commercial sex workers in Kenya.

Full summary

590 CHARS

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of self-reported and saliva-confirmed drug use among 224 commercial sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya. Drug use was assessed via self-report and a 6-panel plus alcohol saliva test kit. Alcohol and tobacco products were the most commonly used substances. A primary motivation for use was sex work-related pressure, with 88% reporting they use drugs to cope and 60% stating they cannot conduct business without them. The cross-sectional design limits causal inference, and sampling from a single site may introduce selection bias.

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

epidemiology

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10045590

Poly-drug use among female and male commercial sex workers visiting a drop in centre in Mombasa County, Kenya

PLOS Global Public Health

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ABSTRACT

The relationship between commercial sex work and drug use is complex and the two exacerbate each other. In Kenya, Mombasa County has one of the highest populations of drug users and commercial sex workers. Despite documentation of drug use among sex workers, most of the studies are based on self-reported history which is prone to social desirability and memory recall biases. It is in this context that we sought to establish actual drug use is this sub-population. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine self-reported and confirmed drug use among 224 commercial sex workers accessing services at Mvita Drop-in. Actual drug use was determined qualitatively using 6 panel plus alcohol Saliva Test kit. The overall prevalence of self-reported and confirmed current use for at least one drug was 98% and 99% respectively. Regardless of the technique used, alcohol and tobacco products were the most consumed substances. Alcohol use increased significantly with age (P = 0.03). Risk of cigarette use and testing positive for cotinine was higher among those age 18 to 35 years compared to >35years at P = 0.001 and P = 0.002 respectively. Poly-drug use was common with 98% testing positive for more than one drug. The reason for drug use was sex work related pressure (88%) with 60% of the respondents reporting they cannot transact this business without drugs. Almost every commercial sex worker is a poly-drug user. We recommend targeted interventions for commercial sex workers.

CITATION EXPORT

Kemunto Phyllys, Onesmus Wanje Ziro, George Kissinger et al.. Poly-drug use among female and male commercial sex workers visiting a drop in centre in Mombasa County, Kenya. PLOS Global Public Health. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001247

AUTHORS

9 · 5 CENTRES

Kemunto Phyllys, Onesmus Wanje Ziro, George Kissinger, Moses Ngari, Nancy L. M. Budambula, Valentine Budambula, Rubeena Zakar, Joel Msafiri Francis, Joel Msafiri Francis

1 Department of Environment and Health Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Mombasa, Kenya
2 KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya
3 Department of Public Health, Pwani University, Kilifi, Kenya
4 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Embu, Embu, Kenya
University of the Witwatersrand, SOUTH AFRICA

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Joel Msafiri Francis