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Community Savings Groups, Financial Security, and HIV Risk Among Female Sex Workers in Iringa, Tanzania

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Abstract

This study assessed the association between community savings group participation and consistent condom use (CCU) among female sex workers (FSW) in Iringa, Tanzania. Using cross-sectional data from a survey of venue-based FSW (n = 496), logistic regression was used to examine the associations between financial indicators including community savings group participation and CCU. Over one-third (35%) of the women participated in a savings group. Multivariable regression results indicated that participating in a savings group was significantly associated with nearly two times greater odds of CCU with new clients in the last 30 days (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.10–2.86). Exploratory mediation analysis indicated that the relationship between savings group participation and CCU was partially mediated by financial security, as measured by monthly income. Findings indicate that community savings groups may play an important role in reducing sexual risk behaviors of FSW and hold promise as part of comprehensive, community-led HIV prevention strategies among FSW.

Resumen

Este estudio evaluó la asociación entre la participación en grupos de ahorro comunitario y el uso consistente de condón (UCC) entre trabajadoras sexuales (TS) en Iringa, Tanzania. Utilizando datos transversales de una encuesta de TS (n = 496), se utilizó regresión logística para examinar las asociaciones entre los indicadores financieros, incluyendo la participación en grupos de ahorro comunitario y UCC. Más de un tercio (35%) de las mujeres participaron en un grupo de ahorro. Los resultados de regresión multivariable indicaron que participar en un grupo de ahorro se asoció significativamente con probabilidades casi dos veces mayores de UCC con nuevos clientes en los últimos 30 días (RMa = 1.77; IC del 95%: 1.10-2.86). El análisis preliminar de mediación indicó que la relación entre la participación en los grupos de ahorro y UCC estaba parcialmente mediada por la seguridad financiera, medida a través del ingreso mensual. Los hallazgos indican que los grupos de ahorro comunitario pueden desempeñar un papel importante en la reducción de las conductas sexuales riesgosas de las TS y que son prometedores como parte de estrategias integrales, dirigidas por la comunidad, de prevención del VIH entre las TS.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health through R01MH104044 and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease of the National Institutes of Health through T32AI050056. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Behavior and Society, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Andrea Mantsios, S. W. Beckham, Susan Sherman & Deanna Kerrigan

  2. Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Noya Galai & Wendy Davis

  3. Department of Statistics, The University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Noya Galai

  4. Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Jessie Mbwambo, Samuel Likindikoki, Catherine Shembilu & Ard Mwampashi

  5. Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Anna Leddy

  6. Department of Sociology, American University, Washington, DC, USA

    Wendy Davis & Deanna Kerrigan

  7. Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Caitlin Kennedy

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  1. Andrea Mantsios
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  2. Noya Galai
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  3. Jessie Mbwambo
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  10. Susan Sherman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea Mantsios.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the Institutional and/or National Research Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Mantsios, A., Galai, N., Mbwambo, J. et al. Community Savings Groups, Financial Security, and HIV Risk Among Female Sex Workers in Iringa, Tanzania. AIDS Behav 22, 3742–3750 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2065-x

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