Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment

Background: In the Limpopo province of South Africa, access and availability of women’s health services are limited and many challenges exist for a growing population of transient sex workers. This study was developed to place communities at the forefront to more specifically understand regional bar...

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Autores principales:	Omara Afzal, Molly Lieber, Ann Marie Beddoe
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ubiquity Press 2020
Materias:	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5b2b7de792a8454f84704004d9e2dea7
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5b2b7de792a8454f84704004d9e2dea72021-12-02T11:27:53ZReproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment2214-999610.5334/aogh.2706https://doaj.org/article/5b2b7de792a8454f84704004d9e2dea72020-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/2706https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996Background: In the Limpopo province of South Africa, access and availability of women’s health services are limited and many challenges exist for a growing population of transient sex workers. This study was developed to place communities at the forefront to more specifically understand regional barriers and attitudes regarding reproductive health care needs. Objective: To build strong community partnerships, gain understanding of issues in women’s health services, and collaborate with community members to address those issues. Methods: A mixed-methods study approach was used in rural South Africa. Participants were recruited through voluntary interest from a local health clinic performing outreach for migrant female sex workers. We (1) created partnerships and built trust within the community and (2) worked collaboratively to collect both qualitative and quantitative data, using community groups to discuss health needs as well as “knowledge, attitude, and practice” (KAP) surveys. Findings: Ninety-four sex workers participated. The survey data identified risk factors to poor reproductive healthcare outcomes, including limited education, young age at first sexual contact, large number of sexual partners, little knowledge of sexually transmitted infections, distrust in the use of healthcare facilities, and limited use of contraception. Community discussion groups revealed a desire for easier and more accessible healthcare, showing the biggest barriers to care are lack of money and transportation, and safety concerns related to profession, including fear of violence from partner and/or client. With input from civic leaders, public interest, and community outreach groups, a community advisory board was successfully formed for future collaboration. Conclusion: By working with local stakeholders and sex workers, we created an interactive and tailored assessment to discuss healthcare disparities. We helped foster community ownership, setting the stage for future implementation of sustainable and cooperative health programming.Omara AfzalMolly LieberAnn Marie BeddoeUbiquity PressarticleInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 86, Iss 1 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Omara Afzal Molly Lieber Ann Marie Beddoe Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment
description	Background: In the Limpopo province of South Africa, access and availability of women’s health services are limited and many challenges exist for a growing population of transient sex workers. This study was developed to place communities at the forefront to more specifically understand regional barriers and attitudes regarding reproductive health care needs. Objective: To build strong community partnerships, gain understanding of issues in women’s health services, and collaborate with community members to address those issues. Methods: A mixed-methods study approach was used in rural South Africa. Participants were recruited through voluntary interest from a local health clinic performing outreach for migrant female sex workers. We (1) created partnerships and built trust within the community and (2) worked collaboratively to collect both qualitative and quantitative data, using community groups to discuss health needs as well as “knowledge, attitude, and practice” (KAP) surveys. Findings: Ninety-four sex workers participated. The survey data identified risk factors to poor reproductive healthcare outcomes, including limited education, young age at first sexual contact, large number of sexual partners, little knowledge of sexually transmitted infections, distrust in the use of healthcare facilities, and limited use of contraception. Community discussion groups revealed a desire for easier and more accessible healthcare, showing the biggest barriers to care are lack of money and transportation, and safety concerns related to profession, including fear of violence from partner and/or client. With input from civic leaders, public interest, and community outreach groups, a community advisory board was successfully formed for future collaboration. Conclusion: By working with local stakeholders and sex workers, we created an interactive and tailored assessment to discuss healthcare disparities. We helped foster community ownership, setting the stage for future implementation of sustainable and cooperative health programming.
format	article
author	Omara Afzal Molly Lieber Ann Marie Beddoe
author_facet	Omara Afzal Molly Lieber Ann Marie Beddoe
author_sort	Omara Afzal
title	Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment
title_short	Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment
title_full	Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment
title_fullStr	Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment
title_full_unstemmed	Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment
title_sort	reproductive healthcare needs of sex workers in rural south africa: a community assessment
publisher	Ubiquity Press
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/5b2b7de792a8454f84704004d9e2dea7
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Reproductive Healthcare Needs of Sex Workers in Rural South Africa: A Community Assessment

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