Reducing sexual risk among Filipina female bar workers: Effects of a CBPR-developed structural and network intervention

The effects of three interventions designed to reduce sexual risk among Filipina female bar workers (FBWs) were compared with each other and with usual care (nonintervention). The interventions were developed iteratively by a community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership comprising lay community members, organizational representatives (including nongovernmental organizations), and academic researchers from the United States and the Philippines. Peer educators and bar managers from 110 different establishments in three southern regions were recruited and trained to increase knowledge of HIV and of condom use rules and regulations within establishments, as well as to change attitudes about risk reduction, provide HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing referrals, and build condom use skills among FBWs. Compared with the control community, all three interventions increased HIV and STI testing; however, only FBWs in the combination peer-educator and manager-training intervention significantly increased condom use from baseline to 2-year follow-up. Condom use was significantly associated with higher HIV knowledge, attendance of a prevention class, and being taught how to use condoms properly. Given these findings, research is warranted to further explore and understand various forms of commercial sex work and to test adapted peer-educator and manger-training interventions within HIV epicenters.