Given the difficulty in accessing a representative sample of sex workers due to the illegal and clandestine nature of sex work and unknown boundaries of this population [35 (link)], mapping and time-space sampling strategies were used to enhance attempts to obtain a representative sample of survival sex workers, supported by standard outreach recruitment strategies used among street-involved populations. Time-space sampling strategy is a probability-based method used to enrol members of a hidden population at times and places where they congregate rather than live [36 (link),37 (link)], with physical spaces (such as bars, parks, or sex work strolls) rather than persons as the primary sampling unit. Although time-space sampling has been primarily used with MSM populations in gay venues [36 (link),37 (link)], the adaptation of this strategy to sex work research is promising. Based on sex work strolls identified through the ongoing mapping in 2006, the peer outreach team conducted systematic outreach during staggered working hours (late night, early morning and daytime) and locations (sex work strolls) to invite women to participate. A researcher or nurse accompanied the outreach team during the late night outreach hours to ensure safety through use of a vehicle and facilitate mobile outreach to more dispersed areas. Staggered days of the week as well as times of the month were used to ensure as representative a sample as possible. Following initial recruitment, the majority of women were invited to participate in the interviews the following day at the project office, an area close to several of the strolls. Based on youth consultations and identified barriers among younger women, specific community drop-in and commercial spaces (such as corner stores, coffee shops) were identified close to the strolls to conduct the interview questionnaires with youth. As well, if business was slow, women conducted the interviews during these late night hours and the worker, along with the Maka outreach team and nurse, would chose a safe and private location.
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