CHANGES IN HIV KNOWLEDGE & RISK BEHAVIOURS IN FEMALE SEX WORKERS IN RWANDA - HIV PREVENTION IMPLICATIONS OF TREND ANALYSES IN BEHAVIOURAL SURVEILLANCE

In Rwanda, existing empirical and analytical studies indicate that female commercial sex workers (FCSW) play an important role in the HIV epidemic. It is thus critical to track sexual risk behaviours in this group in order to develop effective prevention programs and services for sex workers. In this context, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Rwanda and partners conducted two rounds of behavioural surveillance surveys (BSS) among FCSW in 2006 and 2010. We used time-location sampling based on geographic maps of sex work hotspots in Rwanda to recruit a nationally representative sample of 1040 FCSW in 2006 and 1338 FCSW in 2010. At the time of the interview, all FCSW present at the site were asked to participate in the study and administered a quantitative survey instrument after obtaining informed consent. Data were double-entered and analysed using EpiInfo, SPSS and STATA. χ 2 Tests of significance were performed on key variables. Logistic regression analysis was performed to control for key socio-demographics. Overall, an increase in comprehensive HIV knowledge from 18% in 2006 to 22% in 2010 was observed (p Value