Abstract
Short-term mobility is often associated with increased sexual risk behavior. Mobile individuals often have higher rates of sexual risk behavior compared to non-mobile individuals, but the reasons why are not clear. Using monthly retrospective panel data from 202 men and 282 women in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, we tested whether short-term mobility was associated with changes in coital frequency, and whether the association was due to the act of travel in the given month (e.g., enabling higher risk behavior), the reason for travel, or an individual’s travel propensity at other times in the year. Overnight travel specifically to visit family or friends, or for education, health, or other reasons, was associated with increased coital frequency for men. However, men with higher travel propensities had lower overall coital frequency and the act of traveling enabled more sex only for the most frequent male travelers. Men who seldom traveled had much higher coital frequency, but the act of traveling was not associated with additional sex acts. For women, travel for education, health, or other reasons increased coital frequency. Occasional female travelers had slightly more sex acts compared to non-mobile women, and the act of traveling for these women was associated with slight increases in coital frequency, supporting the enabling hypothesis. Highly mobile women had fewer sex acts per month on average. Our findings suggest that mobility characteristics measured on a broad temporal scale, as well as the reason for mobility, are important to understand the relationship between short-term mobility and sexual behavior.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdullah, A. S., Ebrahim, S. H., Fielding, R., & Morisky, D. E. (2004). Sexually transmitted infections in travelers: Implications for prevention and control. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 39(4), 533–538. https://doi.org/10.1086/422721.
Awumbila, M., & Ardayfio-Schandorf, E. (2008). Gendered poverty, migration and livelihood strategies of female porters in Accra, Ghana. Norwegian Journal of Geography, 62(3), 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291950802335772.
Brockerhoff, M., & Biddlecom, A. E. (1999). Migration, sexual behavior and the risk of HIV in Kenya. International Migration Review, 33(4), 833–856. https://doi.org/10.2307/2547354.
Camlin, C. S., Akullian, A., Neilands, T. B., Getahun, M., Bershteyn, A., Ssali, S., & Charlebois, E. D. (2019). Gendered dimensions of population mobility associated with HIV across three epidemics in rural Eastern Africa. Health and Place, 57, 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.002.
Camlin, C. S., & Charlebois, E. D. (2019). Mobility and its effects on HIV acquisition and treatment engagement: Recent theoretical and empirical advances. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 16(4), 314–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-019-00457-2.
Camlin, C. S., Kwena, Z. A., Dworkin, S. L., Cohen, C. R., & Bukusi, E. A. (2014). She mixes her business: HIV transmission and acquisition risks among female migrants in western Kenya. Social Science and Medicine, 102, 146–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.004.
Carter, M. W., Kraft, J. M., Koppenhaver, T., Galavotti, C., Roels, T. H., Kilmarx, P. H., & Fidzani, B. (2007). A bull cannot be contained in a single kraal: Concurrent sexual partnerships in Botswana. AIDS and Behavior, 11(6), 822–830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9203-6.
Cassels, S., Jenness, S. M., & Biney, A. A. E. (2019). Coital frequency and male concurrent partnerships during pregnancy and postpartum in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. AIDS and Behavior, 23(6), 1508–1517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02403-0.
Cassels, S., Jenness, S. M., Biney, A. A., Ampofo, W. K., & Dodoo, F. N. (2014a). Migration, sexual networks, and HIV in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Demographic Research, 31, 861–888. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2014.31.28.
Cassels, S., Jenness, S. M., Biney, A. A. E., & Dodoo, F. N. (2017). Geographic mobility and potential bridging for sexually transmitted infections in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Social Science and Medicine, 184, 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.05.003.
Cassels, S., Jenness, S. M., & Khanna, A. S. (2014b). Conceptual framework and research methods for migration and HIV transmission dynamics. AIDS and Behavior, 18(12), 2302–2313. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-013-0665-z.
Cassels, S., Manhart, L., Jenness, S. M., & Morris, M. (2013). Short-term mobility and increased partnership concurrency among men in Zimbabwe. PLoS ONE, 8(6), e66342. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066342.
Coffee, M. P., Garnett, G. P., Mlilo, M., Voeten, H. A. C. M., Chandiwana, S., & Gregson, S. (2005). Patterns of movement and risk of HIV infection in rural Zimbabwe. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 191, S159–S167.
Cuadros, D. F., Li, J., Mukandavire, Z., Musuka, G. N., Branscum, A. J., Sartorius, B., & Tanser, F. (2019). Towards UNAIDS Fast-Track goals: Targeting priority geographic areas for HIV prevention and care in Zimbabwe. AIDS, 33(2), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000002052.
Deane, K. D., Parkhurst, J. O., & Johnston, D. (2010). Linking migration, mobility and HIV. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 15(12), 1458–1463. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2010.02647.x.
Dobra, A., Barnighausen, T., Vandormael, A., & Tanser, F. (2017). Space-time migration patterns and risk of HIV acquisition in rural South Africa. AIDS, 31(1), 137–145. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000001292.
Dzomba, A., Tomita, A., Govender, K., & Tanser, F. (2019). Effects of migration on risky sexual behavior and HIV acquisition in South Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis, 2000–2017. AIDS and Behavior, 23(6), 1396–1430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2367-z.
Gandhi, A. D., Pettifor, A., Barrington, C., Marshall, S. W., Behets, F., Guardado, M. E., … Paz-Bailey, G. (2015). Migration, multiple sexual partnerships, and sexual concurrency in the Garifuna population of Honduras. AIDS and Behavior, 19(9), 1559–1570. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1139-2.
Ghana Statistical Service. (2012). 2010 Population and housing census: Summary report of final results. Retrieved September 9, 2019 from http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/Census2010_Summary_report_of_final_results.pdf.
Greif, M. J., & Nii-Amoo Dodoo, F. (2011). Internal migration to Nairobi’s slums: Linking migrant streams to sexual risk behavior. Health and Place, 17(1), 86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.08.019.
Jenness, S. M., Biney, A. A., Ampofo, W. K., Nii-Amoo Dodoo, F., & Cassels, S. (2015). Minimal coital dilution in Accra, Ghana. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 69(1), 85–91. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000000543.
Kishamawe, C., Vissers, D. C. J., Urassa, M., Isingo, R., Mwaluko, G., Borsboom, G., & de Vlas, S. J. (2006). Mobility and HIV in Tanzanian couples: Both mobile persons and their partners show increased risk. AIDS, 20(4), 601–608.
Kwena, Z. A., Camlin, C. S., Shisanya, C. A., Mwanzo, I., & Bukusi, E. A. (2013). Short-term mobility and the risk of HIV infection among married couples in the fishing communities along Lake Victoria, Kenya. PLoS ONE, 8(1), e54523. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054523.
Lurie, M. N., Williams, B. G., Zuma, K., Mkaya-Mwamburi, D., Garnett, G., Sturm, A. W., & Abdool Karim, S. S. (2003). The impact of migration on HIV-1 transmission in South Africa: A study of migrant and nonmigrant men and their partners. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 30(2), 149–156.
Magis-Rodriguez, C., Gayet, C., Negroni, M., Leyva, R., Bravo-Garcia, E., Uribe, P., & Bronfman, M. (2004). Migration and AIDS in Mexico: An overview based on recent evidence. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 37(Suppl. 4), S215–226.
Mbugua, G. G., Muthami, L. N., Mutura, C. W., Oogo, S. A., Waiyaki, P. G., Lindan, C. P., & Hearst, N. (1995). Epidemiology of HIV infection among long distance truck drivers in Kenya. East African Medical Journal, 72(8), 515–518.
Meyer-Rath, G., McGillen, J. B., Cuadros, D. F., Hallett, T. B., Bhatt, S., Wabiri, N., … Rehle, T. (2018). Targeting the right interventions to the right people and places: The role of geospatial analysis in HIV program planning. AIDS, 32(8), 957–963. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000001792.
Mulawa, M., Yamanis, T. J., Hill, L. M., Balvanz, P., Kajula, L. J., & Maman, S. (2016). Evidence of social network influence on multiple HIV risk behaviors and normative beliefs among young Tanzanian men. Social Science and Medicine, 153, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.02.002.
Nunn, A. J., Wagner, H. U., Kamali, A., Kengeya-Kayondo, J. F., & Mulder, D. W. (1995). Migration and HIV-1 seroprevalence in a rural Ugandan population. AIDS, 9(5), 503–506.
Oberhauser, A. M., & Yeboah, M. A. (2011). Heavy burdens: Gendered livelihood strategies of porters in Accra. Ghana. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 32(1), 22–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9493.2011.00417.x.
Quinn, T. C. (1994). Population migration and the spread of type-1 and type-2 human immunodeficiency viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 91(7), 2407–2414.
Sanchez, M. A., Hernandez, M. T., Hanson, J. E., Vera, A., Magis-Rodriguez, C., Ruiz, J. D., & Lemp, G. F. (2012). The effect of migration on HIV high-risk behaviors among Mexican migrants. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 61(5), 610–617. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0b013e318273b651.
UNAIDS & World Health Organization. (2018). UNAIDS 2018 data: State of the epidemic. Retrieved September 9, 2019 from https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/unaids-data-2018_en.pdf.
Weine, S. M., & Kashuba, A. B. (2012). Labor migration and HIV risk: A systematic review of the literature. AIDS and Behavior, 16(6), 1605–1621. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0183-4.
Zuma, K., Lurie, M. N., Williams, B. G., Mkaya-Mwamburi, D., Garnett, G. P., & Sturm, A. W. (2005). Risk factors of sexually transmitted infections among migrant and non-migrant sexual partnerships from rural South Africa. Epidemiology and Infection, 133(3), 421–428.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the study participants and the following for their invaluable assistance of this project: Dr. Francis Dodoo, Kamil Fuseini, Fidelia Dake and the staff at the Regional Institute for Population Research at the University of Ghana, the Ghana AIDS Commission, our interview team: Vincent Kantah, Patrick Nyarko, Charlotte Ofori, Cecilia Segbedji, Maame Yaa Konamah Siaw, Bilaal Tackie, Habakkuk Tarezina, Solomon Tetteh, and Dr. William Ampofo and his laboratory staff at NMIMR: Prince Parbie and Joyce Appiah- Kubi. This work was supported in part by the NICHD (R00HD057533) and an NICHD Research Infrastructure grant (R24 HD042828).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
The Institutional Review Boards of the University of Washington and University of Ghana approved all procedures. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cassels, S., Mwenda, K.M., Biney, A.A.E. et al. Is It the Timing? Short-Term Mobility and Coital Frequency in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Arch Sex Behav 50, 589–600 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01815-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01815-7