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Estimating the Population of Female Sexworkers in Hamadan, Western Iran, 2014 Publisher



Karami M1 ; Mirzaei M2 ; Khazaei S3 ; Bathaei SJ2
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
  2. 2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Deputy of Health Services, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
  3. 3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction Published:2017


Abstract

Background: Estimating the population of female sex workers (FSWs) is necessary to monitor HIV epidemic, behavioral risk factors and implement preventive. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the population of FSWs in Hamadan, west of Iran. Patients and Methods: Minimum required data was extracted from 3 registry centers of (a) woman volunteer counseling and Testing Centers (WVCTCs); (b) welfare office drop in Centers (DICw); and (c) health deputy drop in centers (DICh) in Hamadan. The current study estimated the number of FSWs not identified by any of the 3 centers by log-linear model, and hence, the total FSWs population (N). The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) were used as model selection and goodness of fit criteria. Results: There might be 493 (95% confidence interval (CI): 351 - 693) FSWs not identified by any of the centers. Therefore, the real number of FSWs is expected to be 842 (95%CI: 700 - 1042). These results showed that only 41.4% of FSWs were registered by the 3 sources. Conclusions: According to the underestimation of FSWs population by registry data sources in Hamadan, it was concluded that the policy makers should provide health care services and preventive activities according to actual size of FSWs population. © 2017, International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction.