ResearchProjects

Interventions are needed to lower HIV risk behavior and to increase HIV testing and linkage to care among key populations at highest risk for HIV acquisition and transmission. One of these key populations are sex workers. The overall goal of the project was to increase HIV testing uptake among sex workers in tourism areas of the Dominican Republic. The project implemented a comprehensive HIV testing and risk reduction intervention that addressed major barriers to testing and linkage to care. A novel community participatory model was used to train sex workers to serve as community health workers to conduct outreach and deliver the program. The study trained additional community health workers and assessed the efficacy of the program. Increasing HIV testing rates and protective health behaviors among sex workers in the Dominican Republic will add to efforts to reduce HIV transmission, and improve the quality of life for those living with HIV.