gms | German Medical Science

Background: Sex workers since time infinite are a group of people who have been marginalized for centuries due to the criminalization of their work. The health of sex workers with regards to contraceptive use has been a matter of public health concern worldwide with developing countries most affected. Discrimination towards sex workers is nearly universal.

Aims and objective: This study assesses the knowledge, attitude and practice of the use of contraceptives among female sex workers in Kanifing Municipality, The Gambia. The specific objectives are; to find the relationship between demography of sex workers and their attitude towards contraceptive use, to find the relationship between the demography of sex workers and level of practice of contraceptive use, and to assess the level of knowledge of contraceptives among female sex workers in Kanifing Municipal.

Methods: A cross sectional study design was adopted. The study population was female sex workers aged between 15–49 years. The sampling technique was based on the registered sex workers at the World View Program Gambia, an NGO. A snowball sampling technique was used. The data collection technique was a questionnaire and a focus group discussion. Data entry and analysis was done with SPSS version 22.0.

Results: Results shows that there is no relationship between demography of sex workers and attitude towards contraceptive use, neither is there a relationship between demography of sex workers and practice of contraceptive use. The mean age of the participants was 28.2 years, while (47) 78.3% were considered as having good knowledge of contraceptive methods. (52) 86.7% were found to have positive attitudes towards contraceptive use while (8) 13.3% were found negative. About (48) 80% of participants have a bad practice when it comes to contraceptive use while (12) 20% of the participants have a good practice of contraceptive use. Majority (60) 100% heavily rely on condoms and while the most effective methods are underused.

Conclusion: There is a heavy dependency on condoms with underuse of long term contraceptive methods. Despites the high level of knowledge and attitude towards contraception, there still remains poor practice of contraceptives among female sex workers. A more comprehensive approach should be done in terms of including sex workers in the health system and addressing underlying factors that may contribute to poor contraceptive uptake among female sex workers.