Forty seven women food handlers who were considered to be at high risk of HIV infection in Thika town of Central Province of Kenya were studied. The women were interviewed individually for information related to their social characteristics and sexual behaviour. The study showed that 91% were bar attendants, 58% had less than 7 years of formal education and 95% were either unmarried or divorced. All the women had at least one child. One of them practised anal sex but the rest practised vaginal sex. Their opinions on condom use revealed that they lacked knowledge on the advantages of condom use. Certain issues have been raised by this study, which call for in depth studies or incorporation into ongoing studies.
PIP: Researchers from the Kenya Medical Research Centre in Nairobi, Kenya interviewed 250 women food handlers who attended a routine medical exam in Thika town in Central Province to learn social characteristics and sexual behavior of women at high risk of acquiring HIV in urban areas. They only included the 47 who charged for sex. 1 researcher spoke with them later in their local dialect. All but 2 were bar attendants. 96% of their clients were nationals and none reported foreigners. 85% were not originally from Thika town and 51% of these came from the neighboring district of Muranga. 51% of these high risk women had lived in Thika town from 1 monthw5 years. 36.2% had 6-7 years of schooling and only 1 had 12 years. 85% reported to not have reached the level of education they wanted to reach. 49% of these said they did not reach the desired level due to insufficient funds and 19% became pregnant and left school. Age of menarche corresponded with the age when the 47 women left school. 85% had 1-4 children. Moreover 43% had had at least 1 abortion. 53% had been divorced and 45% never had a husband. 60% reported having used at least 1 form of contraceptive. Yet none of these women had used condoms. Some of the reasons for not using them included not knowing the advantages of using condoms, no need to use then, and no sexual pleasure. Only 1 reported having both vaginal and anal sex. 36% had 2 partners/week. 66% said that they go to different parts of Kenya at least once a month. Most of these trips resulted in an overnight stay. 81% had been circumcised and 83% had pierced ears. These results demonstrated a strong need for AIDS and sexually transmitted disease prevention education for high risk women.