Table 2.
Recent sex work, sexual behavior, and sexually transmitted infections at the COPE study baseline (October 2017 – August 2019) among Thai MSM and TGW who exchanged sex in the prior 12 months (n=890).
| Total | Indication of sex work in last 30 days from any question | Indication of sex work from primary or secondary questions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No (n=460) | Yes (n=430) | Primary (n=270) | Secondary only (n=160) | |||||||||
| n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | p | n | (%) | n | (%) | p | |
| Tested for HIV in last 6 months | 581 | (65) | 295 | (64) | 286 | (67) | 0.32 | 174 | (64) | 112 | (70) | 0.28 |
| HIV infection | 44 | (5) | 24 | (5) | 20 | (5) | 0.90 | 14 | (5) | 6 | (4) | 0.54 |
| Current chlamydia infection | 143 | (16) | 67 | (15) | 76 | (18) | 0.069 | 42 | (16) | 34 | (21) | 0.16 |
| Current gonorrhea infection | 48 | (5) | 18 | (4) | 30 | (7) | 0.021 | 19 | (7) | 11 | (7) | 0.85 |
| Current syphilis infection | 92 | (11) | 34 | (8) | 58 | (14) | 0.008 | 36 | (14) | 22 | (15) | 0.90 |
| Prior diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis | 195 | (22) | 88 | (19) | 107 | (25) | 0.25 | 66 | (24) | 41 | (26) | 0.92 |
| Anal sex in the last 7 days | <0.001 | 0.004 | ||||||||||
| No | 267 | (30) | 178 | (39) | 89 | (21) | 52 | (19) | 37 | (23) | ||
| Yes | 440 | (49) | 191 | (42) | 249 | (58) | 171 | (63) | 78 | (49) | ||
| Don’t know or refused to answer | 183 | (21) | 91 | (20) | 92 | (21) | 47 | (17) | 45 | (28) | ||
| Last time had anal sex with man | <0.001 | 0.004 | ||||||||||
| Within 30 days | 545 | (61) | 253 | (55) | 292 | (68) | 198 | (73) | 94 | (59) | ||
| More than 30 days | 152 | (17) | 106 | (23) | 46 | (11) | 25 | (9) | 21 | (13) | ||
| Don’t know or refused to answer | 193 | (22) | 101 | (22) | 92 | (21) | 47 | (17) | 45 | (28) | ||
| Used condom during last anal sex | 0.009 | 0.52 | ||||||||||
| No | 230 | (26) | 121 | (26) | 109 | (25) | 63 | (23) | 46 | (29) | ||
| Yes | 643 | (72) | 325 | (71) | 318 | (74) | 205 | (76) | 113 | (71) | ||
| Don’t know or refused to answer | 17 | (2) | 14 | (3) | 3 | (1) | 2 | (1) | 1 | (1) | ||
| Used alcohol or drugs during anal sex in last 7 days | <0.001 | 0.13 | ||||||||||
| No | 530 | (60) | 310 | (67) | 220 | (51) | 139 | (51) | 81 | (51) | ||
| Yes | 99 | (11) | 27 | (6) | 72 | (17) | 51 | (19) | 21 | (13) | ||
| Don’t know or refused to answer | 261 | (29) | 123 | (27) | 138 | (32) | 80 | (30) | 58 | (36) | ||
Note: MSM = men who have sex with men; TGW = transgender women. Primary question for sex work: “In the last 30 days, have you sold or traded sex?” Secondary questions for sex work: “In the last 30 days, what were your sources of income?”; “Is transactional sex your primary source of income?”; “In the last 30 days, if you have sold or exchanged sex, where did you meet your partner(s)?”; “In the last 7 days, with how many partners did you have anal sex in exchange for money, drugs or anything else of value?”