Article Text
Abstract
Introduction In the recent past, it has been a notion that VIFSWS have a greater risk of acquiring HIV due to their Physical challenge they face.Howver,according to a report from UNAIDS which says that women have a greater risk of becoming infected than men if they are unprotected. The aim of the study is to analyse the level of awareness about HIV/AIDS/STIs among VIFSWs from their Brothels in Eldoret Township, Kenya.
Methods A descriptive study was conducted where Qualitative methods were used. In depth Interviews was conducted on 60 VIFSWs and out of those 60,a strata of 6 was formed. The data was then put on codes and later interpreted.
Results According to the results, it was found out that 99% of the respondents in the study had knowledge on HIV/AIDS and STIs.However, the majority of the respondents faced ill treatment by their male clients due to their physical challenge they face. Also they faced stigma and discrimination from members of Public, on availability of user friendly health care services was also another challenge. They also lacked Testing and Counselling services from government Institutions.
Conclusion According to data obtained from the field, it suggests that the level of awareness of HIV/AIDS/STIs is high among the VIFSWs. However, there is an urgent need to conduct regular Counselling and Testing since they have less knowledge on importance of Counselling and Testing and early use of PeP in case of an exposure or early use of Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART).