Document 0981
 DOCN  M9620981
 TI    Female prostitutes in south London: use of heroin, cocaine and alcohol,
       and their relationship to health risk behaviours.
 DT    9602
 AU    Gossop M; Powis B; Griffiths P; Strang J; Drug Transitions Project,
       National Addiction Centre, Maudsley; Hospital, London, UK.
 SO    AIDS Care. 1995;7(3):253-60. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/96067995
 AB    The present study looks at the association between drug and alcohol use
       and sexual risk behaviours in a sample of 51 women who were currently
       working as prostitutes and also currently using opiates and/or
       stimulants. Most women reported regularly using condoms with clients but
       a substantial minority sometimes had unprotected sex with clients. There
       was no overall association between any of the drug use variables
       (including the use of crack cocaine) and the likelihood of unprotected
       sex. The use of drugs appears to have affected the sexual practices of
       different women in different ways: a substantial minority (just under a
       quarter of the sample) reported that for them, drug use did reduce the
       chances that they would use a condom. There was a link between
       willingness to have unprotected sex for more money and drinking larger
       amounts and drinking more often. The results also indicate that these
       women were exposed to a variety of health risks, including sharing
       injecting equipment and having unprotected sex with their regular
       partner who was often a current or former drug injector. A sub-sample (n
       = 34) completed a confidential questionnaire which showed that one-third
       had previously had at least one sexually transmitted disease and 15% of
       them had been infected during the previous year. These findings about
       rates of STD infection raise questions about the extent to which
       self-reported condom use by prostitutes can be used as an indicator of
       actual levels of infection risk.
 DE    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/PREVENTION & CONTROL/  *TRANSMISSION
       Alcoholism/COMPLICATIONS/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  *Cocaine  Condoms/STATISTICS &
       NUMER DATA  Crack Cocaine  Female  Heroin
       Dependence/COMPLICATIONS/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  Human  HIV
       Seropositivity/EPIDEMIOLOGY/TRANSMISSION  Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
       London  Needle Sharing/STATISTICS & NUMER DATA  Prostitution/*STATISTICS
       & NUMER DATA  Risk Factors  *Sex Behavior  Substance Abuse,
       Intravenous/COMPLICATIONS/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Substance
       Dependence/COMPLICATIONS/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Urban
       Population/*STATISTICS & NUMER DATA  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).