Table 1.
Sociodemographic characteristics and risk behaviours of female sex workers working in stable and unstable locations.
| Variable | Stable, n=164 | Unstable, n=36 | Total, n=200 | P-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| Civil status: Single/divorced/separated/widowed | 74.4% | 72.2% | 74.0% | 0.79 |
| Education: <9th grade | 86.6% | 86.1% | 86.5% | 0.94 |
| Age: <30 | 60.0% | 41.7% | 56.5% | 00.05 |
| Income: <4000 pesos/month (US$300) | 50.0% | 34.3% | 47.2% | 00.09 |
| Reports financial situation as | ||||
| Good/very good | 18.9% | 47.2% | 24.0% | <0.001 |
| Neutral/bad/very bad | 81.1% | 52.8% | 76.0% | |
| Financially supports others | 92.7% | 86.1% | 91.5% | 00.20 |
| Has children | 90.9% | 77.8% | 88.4% | 00.03 |
| Study site | ||||
| Nuevo Laredo | 45.1% | 72.2% | 50.0% | 0.003 |
| Ciudad Hidalgo | 54.9% | 27.8% | 50.0% | |
| Migration factors | ||||
| Birthplace | ||||
| Mexico | 53.1% | 72.2% | 56.5% | 00.04 |
| Guatemala | 20.7% | 16.7% | 20.0% | |
| Honduras | 10.4% | 11.1% | 10.5% | |
| El Salvador | 13.4% | 0 | 11.0% | |
| Other | 2.4% | 0 | 2.0% | |
| Time spent in current city: <5 years | 51.8% | 37.1% | 49.2% | 00.12 |
| Ever been deported | 18.9% | 2.8% | 16.0% | 00.02 |
| Deported from | ||||
| US | 14 | 1 | 15 | |
| Guatemala | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Mexico | 14 | 0 | 14 | |
| Costa Rica | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Substance use and incarceration | ||||
| Heavy alcohol use: >4 drinks in one occasion | 86.6% | 65.6% | 82.8% | 0.005 |
| on a typical drinking day (n=174) | ||||
| Lifetime drug use | ||||
| Any illicit drug use | 54.3% | 44.4% | 52.5% | 00.29 |
| Hard drug use° (n=197) | 45.7% | 34.3% | 43.7% | 00.22 |
| Marijuana use (n=199) | 33.7% | 30.6% | 33.2% | 0.71 |
| Cocaine | 40.9% | 33.3% | 39.5% | 00.40 |
| Heroin | 4.9% | 2.8% | 4.5% | 00.59 |
| Methamphetamine | 1.8% | 0 | 1.5% | 00.41 |
| Amphetamine | 6.2% | 2.9% | 5.6% | 00.44 |
| Drug use in the last 6 months | ||||
| Marijuana | 12.8% | 11.1% | 12.5% | 0.78 |
| Cocaine | 21.3% | 19.4% | 21.0% | 0.80 |
| Heroin | 2.4% | 0 | 2.0% | 00.34 |
| Methamphetamine | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Amphetamine | 3.7% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 0.80 |
| Ever arrested (n=199) | 30.7% | 19.4% | 28.6% | 00.16 |
| Sexual behaviours and risks | ||||
| Reports having an STI symptom# in the last 6 months | 14.6% | 25.0% | 16.5% | 00.13 |
| Ever diagnosed with an STI | 12.8% | 19.4% | 14.0% | 00.30 |
| Number of sex partners in the last 6 months (median, IQR) | 30 (10, 97.5) | 55 (20, 300) | 35 (10, 100) | 00.01 |
| >10 different sex partners in the last 6 months | 70.6% | 91.7% | 74.5% | 00.01 |
| Can afford to buy own condoms | 90.2% | 86.1% | 89.5% | 00.46 |
| Earns <$30 per protected vaginal sex, n=191 | 49.4% | 34.3% | 46.6% | 00.11 |
| Earns <$30 per unprotected vaginal sex act, n=27 | 56.5% | 0 | 48.2% | 00.04 |
| Lives and works in the same location | 49.4% | 18.4% | 44.0% | 0.001 |
| Has a manager/pimp | 24.4% | 19.4% | 23.5% | 00.53 |
| Has worked >5 years as a FSW | 46.3% | 62.9% | 49.3% | 00.08 |
| Majority/all clients were truck drivers in the last 6 months | 51.8% | 86.1% | 58.0% | <0.001 |
| Often/always used alcohol before sex work in the last month (n=199) | 21.5% | 22.2% | 21.6% | 0.91 |
| Used drugs before/during sex at least once in the last month (n=198) | 13.0% | 19.4% | 14.1% | 0.30 |
| In the last 6 months, had clients from | ||||
| Us | 30.0% | 38.9% | 31.6% | 00.37 |
| Guatemala | 45.6% | 22.2% | 41.3% | 00.01 |
| Has ever been forced to have sex (n=199) | 19.6% | 16.7% | 19.1% | 0.64 |
| Health care access and health behaviours | ||||
| No health insurance | 79.3% | 83.3% | 80.0% | 00.58 |
| At least one gynaecologic visit in the last year (n=182) | 95.3% | 79.4% | 92.3% | 0.002 |
| Personally knows someone with HIV | 38.0% | 38.9% | 38.2% | 0.92 |
| Ever HIV tested | 82.9% | 36.1% | 74.5% | <0.001 |
| Condom efficacy scale, median (IQR) | 5 (2, 6) | 1 (0, 4 ) | 4 (1, 6) | 0.001 |
*Chi-squared P-value for dichotomous variables, Wilcoxon Rank-sum P-value for continuous variables;
°hard drug use: includes only use of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and amphetamines; #STI symptoms: genital itching, discharge, ulcers, warts, or other lesion. STI, sexually transmitted infections; IQR, interquartile range; FSW, female sex worker.