Qualitative data were collected from 34 Indonesian female sex workers to understand their engagement with HIV treatment. Influences that enhanced treatment initiation and adherence included women's ...desires to stay healthy to continue working to provide for families; awareness of the biomedical benefits of treatment; support from bosses, outreach workers, and peer support groups; and flexible, nonjudgmental HIV service provision. Influences inhibiting treatment initiation and adherence included concerns about unwanted disclosure in the workplace and side effects of medication on women's capacity to earn money through sex work; geographical location of services; discrimination and confidentiality concerns in HIV care services. To improve HIV treatment initiation and adherence among Indonesian female sex workers, future responses should explore health promotion messages that engage with women's family and livelihood obligations; increased funding for community-based peer outreach workers; community-based treatment initiation and supply; and advocacy in work environments to secure support for treatment initiatives.
Abstract
Men who have sex with men make up one of four key populations identified as critical to a successful HIV response in Indonesia. Despite international policies supporting HIV treatment in ...low- and middle-income countries, Indonesia is one of the few countries experiencing low coverage of HIV treatment and little decrease in HIV incidence. There is poor retention in care and low viral suppression rates among key populations such as men who have sex with men. The national government has committed to increasing treatment access and uptake for people with HIV but little is known about how these men themselves view, use and experience these medications. Drawing on qualitative data collected in 2015–16 from 24 HIV-positive men who have sex with men living in three Indonesian cities, we observed multiple intersecting social and contextual factors that can influence effective HIV treatment use. Although shared stories of strong side effects and fear of unwanted disclosure inhibited treatment uptake, social support from ‘buddies’ helped to navigate healthcare systems and sharing medication among peers enabled adherence. In order to improve treatment uptake and adherence among Indonesian men who have sex with men living with HIV, these divergent effects of the social meanings and practices associated with HIV treatments in Indonesia must be better acknowledged. A more comprehensive understanding of social and community practices within key populations can strengthen national efforts to improve treatment access and increase adherence. Ongoing decentralization of healthcare in Indonesia, and differentiated care models that enable initiation of treatment in community settings and involve non-medical, community-based organizations in the provision of treatment services have the potential to address the needs of individuals who fall into a key population category such as men who have sex with men.
The Indonesian Government, led by President Joko Widodo, has heralded its commitment to evidence-based policy making. The public health community welcomes this commitment; however, as researchers, ...scientists, and practitioners, we have grave concerns that the government is missing an opportunity to implement an effective response to illicit drugs informed by evidence.
Transgender women (
) in Indonesia have high rates of HIV and experience barriers accessing HIV services. This qualitative research explored barriers and facilitators to HIV care among waria in ...Indonesia. Between 2015 and 2016, 42 participants were involved in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews across three urban sites in Indonesia to examine participants' experiences and views on HIV prevention, testing, treatment initiation, and treatment adherence. Data were analyzed thematically. Barriers to accessing HIV care services included perceptions of health and HIV treatment, confidentiality and stigma concerns, and poor access to health insurance. Facilitators to HIV care included recognition of health and perceived susceptibility, perceptions of treatment benefits and consequences of non-adherence, access to social support, and patient-friendly services. Research findings highlight the importance of improving HIV treatment literacy, safeguarding community responses to addressing HIV vulnerability, addressing confidentiality and stigma issues, ensuring services are transgender-friendly, and increasing health insurance coverage.
The HIV epidemic in Indonesia remains concentrated in vulnerable populations, namely injecting drug users (IDUs), commercial sex workers (CSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM). We aimed to ...determine the HIV-1 subtypes present in Indonesia and to establish the extent of the viral overlap between individuals with different risk factors.
Venous blood samples were collected from HIV-positive individuals primarily from sexually transmissible infection clinics and drug rehabilitation centres in Bali and Jakarta, and applied to filter paper. A polymerase chain reaction-based assay designed to amplify a 330-bp region of the HIV-1 envelope was used to determine HIV-1 subtype result and to perform phylogenetic analysis.
Of the 175 individuals recruited to the study, a subtype result was obtained for 108 (62%). Four subtypes were found to exist in the population, CRF01_AE (n=96, 88.9%), B (n=10, 9.3%), C (n=1, 0.9%) and G (n=1, 0.9%). Of these 108 individuals, 65 (60%) were IDUs, and the remaining 40% were CSWs, MSM, transgender individuals, people with multiple sexual partners or those with no obvious risk factor. CRF01_AE was found to be more common among IDUs with 100% of individuals infected with this subtype. Subtype B was more common among MSM and CSWs (P=<0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed a lack of viral segregation between risk groups.
In Indonesia, CRF01_AE continues to dominate the HIV epidemic, although HIV subtype B is responsible for a significant number of sexually acquired infections.
The Indonesian island province of Bali experienced its first rabies incursion in 2008. Mass vaccination of the dog population has proven effective and rabies cases in dogs and people have decreased, ...however the virus is still circulating among the dog population. Vaccination coverage must be maintained until rabies elimination. Increasing efficiency and effectiveness of vaccination campaigns is therefore desired. Community engagement leading to preventative health actions by community members can reduce disease incidence and costs of control. Here we evaluate 2 years of a novel community-based dog welfare and rabies control project (Program Dharma) in the Sanur sub-district. The project engaged the services of people living in the project area with an interest or experience in dogs or community health services. These people spoke with owners within their own community about dog welfare and health, monitored owned and unowned dogs and increased owner and carer efforts to access vaccination and further veterinary services. The evaluation focused on a sample of dogs whose owners had been regularly engaged with project. Vaccination coverage was increased and there were no dog or human rabies cases reported in the project area; the percentage of the dogs that had never been vaccinated was reduced by an average 28.3% (baseline unvaccinated 41-49%, post-project unvaccinated 11-19%). The welfare of dogs improved from an average of 20.7% of dogs with visible welfare problems at baseline to 2.7% after project implementation. Roaming dog density observed on street surveys also decreased in all project areas (24-47% reduction dependent on
). A participatory evaluation event with a sample of Program Dharma community-based agents highlighted several additional successes, including that the community appeared to welcome and value their services and were beginning to support the cost of project activities. Conversely, challenges included identifying dogs in the database during revisits, sustaining the costs of community member time spent working on Program Dharma activities and the costs of veterinary care, whilst avoiding dependency of owners on free veterinary services. The benefits revealed by the evaluation were judged to be sufficient to extend Program Dharma to new areas, whilst evolving activities to resolve challenges.
Objectives: To assess the association between genital cleansing practices and the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases and of sexual health knowledge among female sex workers in Bali, ...Indonesia. Methods: Low priced commercial sex workers (CSWs) participated in the Bali STD/AIDS Study, a 3 year educational project evaluating the effect of education on the subsequent use of condoms and the prevalence of STDs and AIDS. Structured interviews, genital evaluation, laboratory evaluation for STDs, and treatment were performed. Vaginal cleansing characteristics including frequency, type, and reasons for use, were evaluated. Associations between these characteristics and the presence of bacterial and viral genital infections were assessed. Results: Of 625 female sex workers evaluated between May and July 1998, 99.1% used substances, such as soap and toothpaste, to clean the vagina at least daily, with 69.3% performing this after each intercourse. The women using such cleansers after each client did not differ from those using them once or less daily in education, AIDS and condom use knowledge, time working as a CSW, or number of clients in the previous day. However, they were younger than those using vaginal cleansers daily or less, and reported lower condom usage in the past week. Several genital symptoms, such as discoloured discharge and odour, were reported less by women with the highest frequency of vaginal cleanser use. Prevalence of genital infections in this population of women was substantial, with bacterial infections more prevalent than viral infections. Infections were not associated with the type of cleanser used, using a genital cleanser on the day of examination, or using a cleanser after each client versus daily or less, except for candida colonisation, which was more prevalent in women cleansing after each client (OR=1.87, 95% CI 1.21, 2.90). However, symptomatic candida vulvovaginitis (positive culture plus presence of symptoms) was not associated with the prevalence of genital cleansing. Women using genital cleansing in part for “infection avoidance” (39.7%) were more likely to have heard of STDs and AIDS, but were less knowledgeable about these infections, compared with women not citing this reason for genital cleansing. Conclusion: Commercial sex workers in low priced brothels in Bali have a high rate of genital infections, with lower rates of viral compared with bacterial infections. Genital cleansers, on a daily or after each intercourse schedule, are used routinely. Although genital cleansing after each intercourse was associated with fewer genital symptoms, the prevalence of STDs did not differ significantly based on this frequency, and the women's knowledge of STDs and AIDS was less than that of women cleansing less often. The effect of genital cleansing in general on STD and AIDS prevalence could not be assessed in this population owing to the lack of a non-cleansing cohort. Further study to elucidate the effect of vaginal cleansing practices on STD prevalence and resistance is needed.
Recently, large increases have been noted in injection drug use and HIV prevalence in Indonesia. Because voluntary HIV counseling and testing can play an important role in HIV prevention, it is ...important to understand factors related to its use. The objective of this study was to identify factors related to the use of voluntary HIV testing among drug users. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 40 drug users in the Denpasar area of Bali, Indonesia. Drug users may be interested in testing if they have enough information about AIDS to know that they are at risk and that they need this information to protect themselves and others from infection. Barriers toward testing included the fear of a positive result, fear of reactions from family and community members and stigmatization. Other obstacles include a feeling of hopelessness, problems with testing, unavailability and side effects of AIDS drugs and other factors. Many persons would not disclose their status to community members and sexual partners. There were serious concerns about others being ashamed of them and the impact of HIV on relationships with spouses and sexual partners and on employment.
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