Document Detail


Studying complex interactions among determinants of healthcare-seeking behaviours: self-medication for sexually transmitted infection symptoms in female sex workers.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20660592     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVES: To describe the frequency and determinants of self-medication for symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in a female sex worker (FSW) population. To present a methodology exploring the best predictors as well as the interactions between determinants of self-medication.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 4153 FSW carried out in Peru. The prevalence of self-medication was estimated from the subsample of participants who had experienced symptoms of STI in the past 12 months (n=1601), and used successive logistic regression models to explore the determinants.
RESULTS: Self-medication prevalence for a reported symptomatic episode during the past 12 months was 32.1% (95% CI 29.8 to 34.6). It was negatively correlated with work in brothels (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.51, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.93; p=0.028) and awareness of STI services available for FSW (adjusted OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.81; p=0.006). Other determinants were organised at different levels of proximity to the outcome creating pathways leading to self-medication.
CONCLUSIONS: The importance of the staggered analysis presented in this study resides in its potential to improve the understanding of associations between determinants and, consequently, the targeting of interventions. The awareness of STI services available for FSW increases access to health care, which in turn decreases self-medication. In addition, the sharing of information that takes place between brothel-based FSW was also related to a diminishing prevalence of self-medication. These two main predictors provide an opportunity for prevention programmes, in particular those designed to be led by peers.
Authors:
Gabriela B Gomez; Pablo E Campos; Clara Buendia; Cesar P Carcamo; Patricia J Garcia; Patricia Segura; William L Whittington; James P Hughes; Helen Ward; Geoffrey P Garnett; King K Holmes
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Multicenter Study; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Sexually transmitted infections     Volume:  86     ISSN:  1472-3263     ISO Abbreviation:  Sex Transm Infect     Publication Date:  2010 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-07-27     Completed Date:  2010-11-01     Revised Date:  2012-05-23    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9805554     Medline TA:  Sex Transm Infect     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  285-91     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK. g.gomez@imperial.ac.uk
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
Peru
Prostitution / statistics & numerical data*
Self Medication / statistics & numerical data*
Sexual Partners
Sexually Transmitted Diseases / therapy*
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
AI-031448/AI/NIAID NIH HHS; AI-053218/AI/NIAID NIH HHS; GR-078835//Wellcome Trust; P30 AI027757/AI/NIAID NIH HHS; //Medical Research Council

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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