This dissertation evaluates Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) as a method to sample female sex workers (FSW) in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The empirical analysis of this dissertation is based upon a behavioral surveillance survey of 420 FSWs conducted by the author, in conjunction with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Global AIDS Program (GAP) during the spring of 2004. The survey sample includes FSWs over the age of 18 years, having exchanged sex for money in the past one month, and living and/or working in Ho Chi Minh City Estimating the behaviors, size and composition of 'hidden populations' (e.g., Intravenous drug users, men who have sex with men, sex workers, etc.) in countries with increasing HIV prevalence is of particular interest to researchers and public health officials hoping to respond to the HIV epidemic. However, the fact that these sub-populations often lack sampling frames, are rare in the population, and have behaviors that are stigmatized and/or illegal, hinders researchers from obtaining estimates that are unbiased and reliable. Until recently, most research conducted on these groups relied on sampling methodologies with well know biases and limited external validity Recently, researchers have become interested in a variant of chain referral methodology known as RDS. RDS claims to reduce biases associated with chain-referral methods, by utilizing a dual system of structured incentives, whereby peers recruit their peers. RDS uses several recruitment waves to ultimately yield a sample with a composition independent of the non-randomly selected initial subjects. And, in some cases, RDS can be relatively faster and less expensive than the other sampling methods mentioned above (Salganik, 2003; Semaan, 2002) / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_26594 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Contributors | Johnston, Lisa Grazina (Author), Van Landingham, Mark (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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