Open AccessFrequency and thoroughness of STD/HIV risk assessment by physicians in a high-risk metropolitan area.
Author(s) -
Bradley O. Boekeloo,
Eric S. Marx,
Alex Kral,
Steven C. Coughlin,
Marjorie A. Bowman,
David L. Rabin
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.81.12.1645
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , metropolitan area , sexually transmitted disease , primary care , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , continuing medical education , risk perception , perception , continuing education , psychology , medical education , syphilis , pathology , neuroscience
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that all primary care physicians assess the sexually transmitted disease/human immunodeficiency virus (STD/HIV) risk of all adolescent and adult patients. To determine whether factors amenable to change through continuing medical education are associated with frequent and thorough STD/HIV risk assessment, a telephone survey of primary care physicians in the Washington, DC metropolitan area was conducted (n = 961). Thirty-seven percent of physicians reported regularly asking new adult patients about their sexual practices; 60% asked new adolescent patients. STD/HIV risk questioning was associated with physicians' confidence in their ability to help prevent HIV, comfort with discussing patients' sexual practices, and perception of a large STD/HIV problem in their practice. These findings suggest that continuing medical education should target improvement in physicians' sexual practice questioning skills.