A methodological approach to improve the sexual health of vulnerable female populations: Incentivized peer-recruitment and field-based STD testing

Introduction. Transactional sex has been associated with increased risk of adverse health outcomes, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Methods. Participants included female sex workers and men they recruited utilizing incentivized snowball sampling. Participants provided specimens for STI diagnostic testing and completed a semi-structured interview. Results. Forty-four participants aged 19-65 were interviewed. Participants found self-sampling to be acceptable and overwhelmingly endorsed sampling outside of a clinic (90%) for reasons such as convenience, privacy, and lack of stigma. A substantial minority (38%) tested positive for at least one STI. Conclusion. Novel strategies may encourage sexual health care and prevent STIs among sex workers. High infection and screening acceptance rates across the sample suggests that individuals engaged in transactional sex would benefit from, and would be responsive to, community-based self-sampling for STI screening.