A five-year research study led by Dr. Xiaoming Li, professor and director of Wayne State’s Pediatrics Prevention Research Centers, hopes to help reduce alcohol consumption and promote safe sex among Chinese prostitutes in Guangxi, the third largest HIV-infected area in China’s 22 provinces.
The study is expected to reduce drinking and the spread of HIV which comes from having unprotected sex.
“I think what generates concern there is that, as population grows alcohol consumption increases,” said Ralph Hingson, director of the National Institution of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “It is an environment that HIV can spread if intervention will not reduce that from happening.”
The intervention program, funded by the National Institute of Health, was implemented during the Bush administration and involves 700 Chinese prostitutes, referred to as “female sex workers” (FSW) and 150 “gatekeepers,” the owners of the establishment.
The federal government has currently funded $469,903 in grant money to the study, which stands to receive $2.6 million.
The first phase of the program, the exploratory phase, involves locating the number of FSW in China. Next, is the program development phase, which includes observing the lives of these FSW and gatekeepers.
After this, the implementation and the evaluation stages will enable researchers to collect findings that they hope to use throughout other provinces of China.
“HIV is a global epidemic, increasing the spread to China and U.S. citizens who travel back to the U.S,” Hingson said.
As the Chinese population continues to rise, and HIV rapidly spreads throughout China, FSW will be trained in communication skills and social-behavioral skills like using condoms and engaging in less risky practices. Gatekeepers are encouraged to reinforce protective policies within their establishments.
The U.N. estimates that about 700,000 people in China live with HIV/AIDS, with unprotected sex and drinking being some of the main factors.
“In developing countries such as Guangxi, China many have turned to prostitution to meet household survival needs,” Julie O’Conner, Research Communications Director for the Office of Vice President for Research, said.
Prostitutes in China earn anywhere from $13 to $50 per customer. However, the excess supply in FSW has decreased the values of profit one may make.
FSW are found in bars, karaoke venues, salons, massage parlors, on campuses, residential neighborhoods and Wal-Mart. FSW lodge in hotels waiting to entertain male travelers as sex tourism becomes increasingly popular.
“This [need to make more money to survive] coupled with increased alcohol abuse has led to an increase in HIV and AIDS infection,” O’Conner said. “East Asia has seen a significant rise in the infection rate of HIV and AIDS in recent years.
“A major goal of Dr. Li is to provide this at-risk population with an intervention center, helping to decrease the transmission of this disease in a global society.”
If the program is successful, it is Hingson’s hope that it will be adopted by other provinces in China and travelers will be aware of it as they go in and out of China. Hingson said the same research has been a success in the Philippines.
