Implementation of respondent-driven sampling among female sex workers in Brazil, 2009

Abstract

Female sex workers are known in Brazil and elsewhere in the world as one of the most-at-risk populations for risk of HIV infection, due to their social vulnerability and factors related to their work. However, the use of conventional sampling strategies in studies on most-at-risk subgroups for HIV is generally problematic, since such subgroups are small in size and are associated with stigmatized behaviors and/or illegal activities. In 1997, a probabilistic sampling technique was proposed for hard-to-reach populations, called Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS). The method is considered a variant of chain sampling and allows the statistical estimation of target variables. This article describes some assumptions of RDS and all the implementation stages in a study of 2,523 female sex workers in 10 Brazilian cities. RDS proved appropriate for recruiting sex workers, allowing the selection of a probabilistic sample and the collection of previously missing information on this group in Brazil.

Fatores associados à violência contra mulheres profissionais do sexo de dez cidades brasileiras

“…Previous articles have presented the method's premises, proposed data analysis procedures, and the RDS process in the ten Brazilian cities 8,10 .…”

Transfer of sampling methods for studies on most-at-risk populations (MARPs) in Brazil

“…This process is repeated until reaching the initially planned sample size 13 . Damacena et al 16 describe in detail the underlying assumptions in RDS and the experience with implementing this sampling process among female sex workers in Brazil.…”

Vulnerability to Sexually Transmitted Infections in women who sell sex on the route of prostitution and sex tourism in Central Brazil

“…Because the population of FSWs is difficult to access, we used respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a sampling method that can generate probabilistic samples and is particularly recommended for difficultto-access populations (7,14) . RDS is a variant of the chainreferral method and has been used in several countries, including Brazil (7,(15)(16) .…”

“…RDS is a variant of the chainreferral method and has been used in several countries, including Brazil (7,(15)(16) . The use of RDS is based on a referral made by peers and requires social networks that connect the target population (7,16) .…”

“…Many FSWs use legal or illegal drugs and have sex without condoms. In addition, they exhibit individual, social, and structural vulnerabilities, such as low educational levels, geographic mobility, difficulty accessing healthcare services, gender-related hindrances, and social stigma (5)(6)(7)(8) .…”