Citation

Urada LA, Strathdee SA, Morisky DE, Schilling RF, Simbulan NP, Estacio LR, Raj A. Asia Pac. J. Public Health 2014; 26(2): 138-146.

Affiliation

1University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1010539512471969

PMID

23343641

Abstract

To assess the prevalence of sex work and its associations with substance use among female bar/spa workers in the Philippines (N = 498), workers from 54 bar or spa venues in Metro Manila (2009-2010) were surveyed on demographics, drug/alcohol use, abuse history, and sex work. Their median age was 23 years and 35% engaged in sex work. Sex work was independently associated with methamphetamine use (19% vs 4%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-6.2), alcohol use with patrons (49% vs. 27%; AOR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-3.4), and alcohol intoxication during sex (50% vs. 24%; AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.5), but inversely associated with daily alcohol use (13% vs. 16%; AOR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.1-0.5). Additional significant covariates included sexual abuse history, younger age, and not having a higher education. Findings suggest that interventions with sex workers in bars and spas should focus on methamphetamine use, alcohol use contexts, and violence victimization, to better meet the needs of this population.

Keywords: Human trafficking

Language: en