Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Adult Indicator 9
Consistent condom use with
commercial partners
Definition
Numerator :
Number of male respondents
who used a condom every
time they had sex with any
commercial partner over the
past year
Denominator : Number of male respondents
who have had sex with at
least one commercial partner
in the past 12 months.
Measurement tools
Adult questionnaire
Q506
Strengths and limitations
This indicator shares the limitations of
Adult Indicator 5. Because the risk of HIV
transmission in unprotected sex with a sex
worker is generally higher than in unprotected
sex with other types of partners, any inconsistency
in condom use can carry a high likelihood
of spreading the virus. Many countries have
invested considerable resources in trying to
ensure that condoms are always used in
commercial sex encounters, so measures of
consistency in this field are extremely important
programmatically. It is therefore critical that
this indicator include in the numerator only
those men who report always using condoms
with all commercial sex partners.
What it measures
This provides the measure of consistent
condom use during commercial sex.
How to measure it
Respondents who report commercial sex
partners are asked about condom use with the
most recent partner of this type, and are further
asked about consistency of condom use with
all commercial partners in the past year.
Those who report always having used a condom
with every commercial partner in the last 12
months form the numerator for this indicator.
The denominator is all men reporting sex with
a commercial partners in the last 12 months.
B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E SURV EY S CHAPTER 9
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