To browse Academia. Feasibility use of HIVST and sharing of test kits with others was assessed in these women at a study visit four months later. Results Two hundred FSW were screened. For the general population of Botswana, the estimated HIV prevalence is This study explored and documented female sex workers' perceptions and attitudes towards the acceptability of HIV self-testing in Selibe Phikwe, northeastern Botswana.
Methods: Purposive convenience sampling and snowballing approaches were used to recruit 17 participants into the study which was carried out in collaboration with a community-based organisation, the Silence Kills Support Group.
Two focus group discussions and five in-depth interviews were conducted. Information was collected on female sex workers' awareness of HIV self-testing, their willingness to use it, their preferred distribution model, and their preferred test kit. Themes and subthemes that emerged were interpreted based on the Integrated Behavioural Model. Participants expressed negative attitude towards HIVST due to a lack of knowledge and confidence to carry out self-testing independently.
Female sex workers are classified among the most at risk population group in the country. However, sub-national disaggregated data on new infections are not available. Hence, there is a need to focus great attention on other proxies of infection. The logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate crude odds ratios and identify the factors associated with having an HIV test among the FSWs. HIV prevalence among sex workers in Botswana was found to be 3 times higher than in the general population.
Analysis of the results shows that the sex workers most likely to seek HIV testing were young women with no children. The odds of testing for HIV were almost 4 times more for FSWs who had first sex older as compared to the odds of testing for those who are 17 to 19 years old. Lack of or inconsistent condom use and currently having symptoms of STIs such as lower abdominal pain and genital ulcerations were also factors associated with HIV testing.
