Table 1. Characteristics of female sex workers and their non-commercial male partners: who inject drugs in Tijuana and Cd. Juárez, Mexico (n=312; 156 couples)a.
| Women (n=156) |
Men (n=156) |
Overall (n=312) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographics | |||
|
| |||
| Study site is Tijuana (vs. Cd. Ciudad Juárez ) | 70 (45%) | 70 (45%) | 140 (45%) |
| Median age in years (interquartile range; IQR) | 33 (28-40) | 37 (31-43) | 35 (29-42) *** |
| Median educational attainment in years (IQR) | 6 (5-8) | 7 (6-9) | 6 (6-9) ** |
| Born in study site (vs. someplace else) | 70 (45%) | 71 (46%) | 141 (45%) |
| Ever had children | 143 (92%) | 118 (76%) | 261 (84%) *** |
| Income >3500 pesos per month (>$270 USD) | 65 (42%) | 45 (30%) | 110 (36%) ** |
| Median time spent on street each day in hours (IQR) | 8 (5-10) | 10 (8-12) | 8 (6-12) ** |
| Ever been arrested (lifetime) | 89 (57%) | 112 (72%) | 201 (64%) ** |
| Ever migrated to the United States | 75 (48%) | 113 (72%) | 188 (60%) *** |
| Ever been deported from the United States | 11 (7%) | 26 (17%) | 37 (12%) ** |
|
| |||
| Relationship Characteristics | |||
|
| |||
| Median relationship duration in years (IQR)b | -- | -- | 3.0 (1.5-5.2) |
| Median trust of partner on 10-point scale (IQR) | 9 (7-10) | 9 (7-10) | 9 (7-10) |
| Median relationship satisfaction on 20-point scale (IQR) |
15 (13-15) | 15 (14-15) | 15 (14-15) * |
| Male financial dependence on FSW’s incomeb | -- | -- | 86 (28%) |
| Couple rarely/never uses condoms (vs. often/always) |
-- | -- | 302 (97%) |
|
| |||
|
Drug Abuse (past 6 months, alone or in
combination with other drugs) |
|||
|
| |||
| Used heroin | 133 (85%) | 125 (80%) | 258 (83%) |
| Injected heroin | 132 (85%) | 123 (79%) | 255 (82%) |
| Used methamphetamine | 42 (27%) | 39 (25%) | 81 (26%) |
| Injected methamphetamine | 21 (13%) | 25 (16%) | 46 (15%) |
| Used cocaine use | 32 (21%) | 27 (17%) | 59 (19%) |
| Injected cocaine | 15 (10%) | 15 (10%) | 30 (10%) |
| Used crack | 24 (15%) | 18 (12%) | 42 (13%) |
| Injected crack | 2 (1%) | 4 (3%) | 6 (2%) |
|
| |||
|
Drug Procurement within Relationships
(past 6 months) |
|||
|
| |||
| Uses heroin with partner at least once per day | 91 (58%) | 90 (58%) | 181 (58%) |
| Injects heroin with partner at least once per day | 90 (58%) | 86 (55%) | 176 (56%) |
| Before using heroin together with partner, who usually makes the decision to use the drug: c |
|||
|
1. Participant mostly/completely decides (vs.
partner) |
9 (10%) | 4 (5%) | 13 (7%) |
| 2. Participant and partner decide together (equally) | 79 (88%) | 80 (93%) | 159 (90%) |
|
3. Partner mostly/completely decides (vs.
participant) |
2 (2%) | 2 (2%) | 4 (2%) |
| Before using heroin together with partner, who was usually responsible for buying it: c |
|||
|
| |||
| 1. Participant mostly/completely responsible | 6 (7%) | 13 (15%) | 19 (11%) |
| 2. Participant and partner equally responsible | 76 (84%) | 69 (80%) | 145 (82%) |
| 3. Partner mostly/completely responsible | 8 (9%) | 4 (5%) | 12 (7%) |
|
| |||
|
Injection Equipment Sharing within
Relationships (past 6 months) |
|||
|
| |||
| Gave or loaned a syringe to someone else after using it (including to partner) |
63 (47%) | 44 (36%) | 107 (42%) * |
|
| |||
| To whom a used syringe was given/loaned: d | |||
|
| |||
| Steady partner | 42 (67%) | 24 (55%) | 66 (62%) |
| Friends | 25 (40%) | 15 (34%) | 40 (37%) |
| Acquaintances | 7 (11%) | 13 (30%) | 20 (19%) * |
| Gave or loaned a spoon, bottle cap, cotton filter or rinse water to someone else after using it (including to partner) |
65 (49%) | 51 (42%) | 116 (45%) |
| Shared or divided drugs by using a syringe to load drugs into another syringe |
53 (40%) | 50 (41%) | 103 (40%) |
| Often/always used a new syringe to divide the drugs (vs. rarely/never): e |
10 (19%) | 22 (44%) | 32 (31%) ** |
| Used a syringe after someone else had used it (including partner; i.e., receptive syringe sharing) |
59 (44%) | 48 (39%) | 107 (42%) |
|
| |||
| From whom the used syringe was obtained: f | |||
|
| |||
| Steady partner | 40 (68%) | 23 (48%) | 63 (59%) * |
| Friends | 20 (34%) | 19 (40%) | 39 (36%) |
| Acquaintances | 8 (14%) | 15 (31%) | 23 (22%) * |
| Used a spoon, bottle cap, cotton filter or rinse water after someone else had used it (including to partner) |
63 (48%) | 52 (42%) | 115 (45%) |
|
| |||
| Injection Assistance Behaviors (past 6 months) | |||
|
| |||
| Received help injecting from someone else | 38 (29%) | 32 (26%) | 70 (27%) |
|
| |||
| Reason for seeking help injecting from someone else: g |
|||
|
| |||
| Veins are collapsed/too small | 24 (63%) | 19 (59%) | 43 (61%) |
| Never learned how to inject | 10 (26%) | 4 (13%) | 14 (20%) |
| Wanted to inject in neck or other difficult places | 4 (6%) | 7 (10%) | 11 (16%) |
| From whom the help injecting was obtained: g | |||
| Steady partner | 26 (68%) | 17 (53%) | 43 (61%) |
| Friends | 11 (29%) | 14 (44%) | 25 (36%) |
| Acquaintances | 5 (13%) | 4 (13%) | 9 (13%) |
Notes:
a
Analysis restricted to 312 participants involved in relationships in which both partners reported injecting drugs within six months prior to their baseline visit (i.e., 156 “injector couples”).
b
Average of both partners’ responses within couples.
c
Among 176 who inject heroin together at least once per day.
d
Among 107 who gave or loaned a syringe to someone else after using it.
e
Among 103 who shared/divided drugs using another syringe.
f
Among 107 who used a syringe after someone else (receptive syringe sharing).
g
Among 70 who received help injecting from someone else (injection assistance).
*
p<.05
**
p<.01
***
p<.001.
P-values were obtained from bivariable logistic regression analyses with clustered standard errors to account for correlation within couples.