Microbicide/Female Condom Acceptability for Sex Workers

描述（由申请人提供）：我们寻求艾滋病FIRCA基金，以补充杀微生物剂的可接受性，以防止艾滋病毒在高危妇女（R 01 MH 63631）。这项补充研究将由康涅狄格州哈特福德社区研究所的一个国际研究小组与中国北京协和医学院流行病学系的廖素素博士合作进行，在海南省和广西省的三个中等规模的城镇开展工作，针对HIV/STD高风险的女性性工作者。它将审查他们对使用杀微生物剂产品和女用避孕套预防艾滋病毒/性传播疾病的准备程度，影响他们尝试或采用这种方法的意愿的因素，以及他们在减少包括艾滋病毒在内的性传播疾病的替代方法中选择的原因。这项研究将：1）调查中国南方三个农村和半城市化城镇中通过无保护性行为感染或传播艾滋病毒的高风险女性性工作者对杀微生物剂预防方法和女用避孕套的准备程度和可接受性; 2）确定中国南方环境中影响杀菌剂/女用避孕套可接受性的背景因素，包括种族/文化信仰，同伴规范，个人风险背景（卖淫、移徙、虐待伴侣）、经济条件、社会环境、伴侣和伴侣关系以及对生殖的关注; 3）评估高危中国女性性工作者愿意和/或能够使用阴道杀菌剂的条件（以凝胶形式）在与主要、临时和/或付费性伴侣的定期性活动中预防艾滋病毒; 4）评估中国高危女性性工作者愿意和/或愿意接受的条件;或能够在与主要、临时和/或付费性伴侣的定期性活动中使用女用避孕套预防艾滋病毒; 5）建立国际研究合作，基础设施，并为在中国南方这三个城镇的女性性工作者中进行更大规模的杀微生物剂和女用避孕套的可接受性和采用以预防艾滋病毒/性病的研究奠定了基础。目标人群将包括300名女性性工作者（3个研究中心各100名），约80%为汉族，20%为少数民族（尤其是黎族）。我们将使用定性（启发式技术，半结构化访谈）和定量（堆分类，排名，调查）方法相结合，以评估杀微生物剂/女用避孕套的准备和接受目标人群。在前3个月，我们将访问和审查三个研究中心，并会见当地合作者。第一年的其余时间将集中在研究中心1;开发仪器，材料和协议;在样本招募，研究方法和数据分析方面培训当地工作人员;收集和分析数据。在第2年，我们将在第2研究中心开展工作，在第3年，我们将在第3研究中心开展工作，以复制在第1研究中心开展的工作。在项目的最后6个月，我们将完成数据分析和干预计划，以促进女用避孕套和/或杀微生物剂的后续研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We seek AIDS-FIRCA funds to supplement the Microbicide Acceptability to Prevent HIV in High-risk Women (R01 MH63631). This supplemental study will be conducted by an international research team from the Institute for Community Research in Hartford, CT, in collaboration with Dr. Susu Liao from the Department of Epidemiology, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC), in Beijing, China, to work in three mid-sized towns in Hainan and Guangxi Provinces, targeting female sex workers at high risk of HIV/STDs. It will examine their level of preparedness for using microbicide products and the female condom for HIV/STD prevention, the factors that affect their willingness to try or adopt such methods, and their reasons for choosing among alternative approaches to reducing STDs including HIV. This study will: 1) examine readiness for and acceptability of microbicide prevention methods and the female condom among Chinese female sex workers at high risk of contracting or transmitting HIV through unprotected sex in three southern Chinese rural and semi-urban towns; 2) identify contextual factors in the southern Chinese setting that affect acceptability of microbicides/female condoms, including ethnic/cultural beliefs, peer norms, personal risk context (prostitution, migration, abusive partners), economic conditions, social settings, partners and partner relationships, and concern for reproduction; 3) assess conditions under which high-risk Chinese female sex workers will be willing and/or able to use a vaginal microbicide (in a gel form) for HIV prevention during their regular sexual activity with their primary, casual, and/or paying sex partners; 4) assess conditions under which high-risk Chinese female sex workers will be willing and/or able to use a female condom for HIV prevention during their regular sexual activity with their primary, casual, and/or paying sex partners; and 5) establish an international research collaboration, infrastructure, and foundation for conducting a larger study of microbicide and female condom acceptability and adoption for HIV/STD prevention among female sex workers in these three towns in southern China. The target population will include 300 female sex workers (100 from each of three study sites), and will be approximately 80% Han Chinese and 20% minority ethnic groups (especially Li). We will use a combination of qualitative (elicitation techniques, semi-structured interviews) and quantitative (pile sorting, ranking, survey) methods to assess microbicide/female condom readiness and acceptability in the target populations. In the first 3 months, we will visit and review the three study sites and meet local collaborators. The rest of Year 1 will focus on research in Site 1; developing instruments, materials, and protocols; training local staff in sample recruitment, research methods, and data analysis; and collecting and analyzing data. In year 2, we will work in Site 2 and in Year 3, in Site 3 to replicate the work conducted in Site 1. In the last 6 months of the project we will finalize data analyses and an intervention program to promote the female condom and/or microbicides for a subsequent study.