OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to assess the acceptability of a savings intervention in which female sex workers (FSW) would save part of their earnings and call back (withdraw) when faced with a financial need that could force them into HIV risk practices. The secondary objectives were to assess its feasibility, concerns and design considerations. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. Participants were asked for views on the intervention, their earnings, saving and spending practices, and suggestions for the intervention package. SETTING: Kisumu and Siaya counties, Kenya. PARTICIPANTS: FSWs aged ≥18 years, self-identifying as sex workers and living in Kisumu or Siaya county. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of participants who believed the Jitegemee intervention would be acceptable to FSWs in Kenya. The secondary outcomes were the proportion who: could generate money to save (assessed from income, spending and loaning practices), reported potential challenges with the intervention and suggested components to inform the intervention package. RESULTS: We enrolled 369 FSWs, 88% aged 18-39 years, 78% unmarried, 94% cared for ≥1 child(ren) and 78% were household heads. Over half (52.1%) had been in sex trade for ≤4 years, with 62.3% reporting <
10 clients the previous month. Jitegemee was highly acceptable, at 94.8%
however, participants suggested adding: financial literacy, including saving, spending and loans management (74.8%), forming saving groups (37.5%) and goal-setting (24.1%). Those who did not care for children were 4.86 times more likely to save (adjusted OR (aOR)=4.86, p=0.18), non-household heads were less likely to save (aOR=0.57, p=0.28) and those in the sex trade for 1-4 years and 5-9 years were four to five times more likely to save than those <
1 year (aOR=4.49, p=0.01 and aOR=5.22, p=0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Jitegemee intervention was highly acceptable
however, several recommendations were suggested to make the design more appealing and potentially effective.