Vietnamese female sex workers in rural cross-border areas of Guangxi, China: migration and HIV/STI risk behaviors

ABSTRACT

China’s HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to grow in rural and less developed areas. This consecutive cross-sectional study examines demographic and behavioral factors associated with HIV/STI infection, Hepatitis C (HCV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among Vietnamese female sex workers (FSW), a vulnerable population who cross into Guangxi, China. This study is a secondary data analysis of 303 Vietnamese and 4,348 Chinese FSWs recruited over seven years from two Chinese counties that border Vietnam. Logistic regression models compared demographics, HIV/STI status, HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and risk behaviors between Vietnamese FSWs and Chinese FSWs. Compared with Chinese FSWs, Vietnamese FSWs were younger, had attained lower education levels, were highly mobile, more likely to report using drugs, and were more vulnerable to HIV/STIs. Younger age, less educational attainment, shorter time in their current working location, no voluntary HIV testing in the last year, greater drug use, and not using condoms for all commercial sex in the last month were associated with higher HIV/STIs. In conclusion, several factors were associated with HIV/STI risk in Vietnamese cross-border FSWs. There is a pressing need to improve support systems for Vietnamese cross-border FSW and health system cooperation across the Chinese/Vietnamese border.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• Vietnam
• migration
• female sex workers
• HIV/STI

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to all staffs from County Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Ningming and Longzhou County (Guangxi, China) for collecting and providing epidemiological data of local HIV/AIDS. This study was also supported by Guangxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Guangxi, China).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by National Key Science Projects Program [grant number 2018ZX10101002-001-006], National Natural Science Foundation of China [31560050], Guangxi Natural Science Foundation [2018|GXNSFAA138070, 2016GXNSFBA380189], Guangxi Science and Technology Program key projects [Gui Ke Gong 14124003-1], Guangxi University “100-Talent” Program and Guangxi university innovation team and outstanding scholars program [Gui Jiao Ren 2014 [7]].