Open AccessSex in Australia: Sexually transmissible infection and blood‐borne virus history in a representative sample of adults
Author(s) -
Grulich Andrew E.,
Visser Richard O.,
Smith Anthony M.A.,
Risse Chris E.,
Richters Juliet
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-842x.2003.tb00814.x
Subject(s) - medicine , demography , virology , sample (material) , chromatography , chemistry , sociology
Objective To describe the lifetime and recent history of STIs and BBV, including place of seeking treatment, in a representative sample of Australian adults. Methods Computer‐assisted telephone interviews were completed by a representative sample of 10,173 men and 9,134 women aged 16–59 years from all States and Territories. The overall response rate was 73.1% (69.4% among men and 77.6% among women). Results : Overall, 20.2% of men and 16.9% of women had ever been diagnosed with an STI or BBV, and 2.0% and 2.2% respectively had been diagnosed in the past year. The participant's usual general practitioner was the most common location of treatment. Sexual health clinics accounted for a small proportion of treatment locations. Predictors of recent STI or BBV diagnosis in men included homosexual or bisexual identity, a history of sex work as a worker or client, a history of injecting drugs and having more than one partner in the past year. In women, predictors included bisexual identity, history of sex work as a worker, injecting drug use, and having more than one partner in the past year. Around 40% of men and women had been tested for HIV and in homosexually identified men, 77% had been tested. Conclusion STIs and BBVs are common infections in Australia and care is mostly received from general practitioners. Although a variety of predictors, including homosexual or bisexual identity, injecting drug use and sex work were related to STI diagnosis, STIs were not uncommon among people without these risk factors.Implications: General practitioners in Australia require a high level of expertise to recognise, offer testing, and manage common STIs and BBVs.