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Sexual Behavior, Psychosocial and Knowledge Differences between Consistent, Inconsistent and Non-Users of Condoms: A Study of Female Bar and Hotel Workers in Moshi, Tanzania

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Abstract

Understanding psychosocial, sexual behavior and knowledge differences between never, inconsistent and consistent condom users can improve interventions to increase condom use in resource-poor countries, but they have not been adequately studied. We examined these differences in a cohort of 961 female hotel and bar workers in Moshi, Tanzania. Forty-nine percent of women reported no condom use; 39% reported inconsistent use, and 12% reported consistent use. Women with multiple sexual partners in the past five years were less likely to be consistent rather than inconsistent users as were women who had ever exchanged sex for gifts or money. Inconsistent users had higher condom knowledge and higher perceived acceptability of condom use than did never users, but they did not differ from consistent users by these factors. There are important differences between women by level of condom use. These findings can help inform interventions to increase condom use.

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Acknowledgements

This project has been made possible in part by the financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation, New York (Grant Number 2002 HE 036) and institutional support from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. This study was also supported by a T32 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (Grant Number AI07358-17) and a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant Number R21 AA013874-03). We would like to thank the women who participated in this study; research and administrative staff for their efforts in the implementation of the study; and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Moshi Municipal Council for providing institutional support. We are also grateful to Mary Solomon, Coleta Mbuya, Esther Mchome, Grace Mhango, Basidi Bamba, Ireen Kiwelu, John Shao and Christopher Mtamakaya for their dedication and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge Building, Room 816, 677 Huntington Avenue, 02115, Boston, MA, USA

    Katherine K. Tassiopoulos & George R. Seage III

  2. Department of Clinical Laboratories, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Moshi, Tanzania

    Noel E. Sam

  3. Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard, USA

    Trong T. H. Ao & Saidi H. Kapiga

  4. Department of Dermatology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

    Elisante J. Masenga

  5. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard, USA

    Michael D. Hughes

Authors
  1. Katherine K. Tassiopoulos
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  2. George R. Seage III
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  3. Noel E. Sam
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  4. Trong T. H. Ao
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  5. Elisante J. Masenga
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  6. Michael D. Hughes
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  7. Saidi H. Kapiga
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Correspondence to George R. Seage III.

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Tassiopoulos, K.K., Seage, G.R., Sam, N.E. et al. Sexual Behavior, Psychosocial and Knowledge Differences between Consistent, Inconsistent and Non-Users of Condoms: A Study of Female Bar and Hotel Workers in Moshi, Tanzania. AIDS Behav 10, 405–413 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9112-8

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