Deaths of Female Sex Workers from HIV/AIDS in Kenya, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2019–2023 and Barriers to Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence
Observational study details HIV-related deaths in female sex workers, highlighting barriers to treatment adherence and implications for care.
Key Points
This research aims to identify the factors contributing to antiretroviral therapy non-adherence among female sex workers who died from HIV in Kenya, Nigeria, and the DRC.
Collected data from HIV-related deaths among female sex workers in Kenya, Nigeria, and the DRC.
Utilized a community knowledge approach for data gathering from local sex worker organizations.
Employed structured questionnaires to gather demographic data and reasons for ART non-adherence.
Conducted qualitative descriptive analysis to identify themes regarding ART adherence.
A total of 853 female sex workers reported 445 HIV/AIDS-related deaths.
The mean age at death was 27 years; 70.6% of deceased were mothers.
95.1% of deceased were not taking antiretrovirals at the time of death.
Common reasons for ART non-adherence included food insecurity (22.9%), alcohol and drug use (10.4%), and depression (13.5%).