SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL DETERMINANTS OF CONSISTENT CONDOM USE AMONG FEMALE COMMERCIAL SEX WORKERS

This study investigated the social and behavioral predictors of consistent con-dom use among female commercial sex workers (FCSWs) in Ghana. Four hun-dred fifty street commercial sex workers were interviewed in Accra, Kumasi and Techiman. The level of condom education was very low (14%); however consis-tent condom use (all the time) with clients was relatively high (49.6%). Two hun-dred seventy-seven of the participants did not use condoms all the time. Significant predictive factors associated with consistency of condom use among FCSWs in a multivariate analysis were age, level of education, religion, and number of customers. Some of the major obstacles identified in this study to consistent condom use were refusal by clients, lack of availability of free condoms, and the lack of em-powerment to negotiate safer sex with clients. In summary, this study points to an urgent need for reestablishing effective pre-vention intervention and some insights of what is required of such program in Ghana. BACKGROUND Although overall levels of infection have remained relatively low compared wit