Multivariate data reduction: A case study on latent determinants of sexual hiv risk among female commercial sex workers in Kisumu

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of the factors that determine the acquisition and transmission of HIV is fundamental for monitoring the epidemic and for providing treatment, care and support services to the infected and their families. The purpose of this paper was to identify the latent determinants of sexual HIV transmission and acquisition among female commercial sex workers in Kisumu town and its rural environs. Data was collected from January 2006 to December 2008 from 1,647 female commercial sex workers, using snowball sampling method. Exploratory factor analysis with principal component extraction method and varimax rotation was used. The analysis produced eight latent factors; sex work experience, general intelligence at the start of sex work, other intimate relationships outside sex work and their nature, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and their management, environmental influence, financial status and possible daily exposure to the virus.