Open AccessTrends in pre-military sexually transmitted infections and associated risk behaviours in Canadian Armed Forces recruits
Author(s) -
Heather McCuaig Edge
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
canada communicable disease report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1481-8531
pISSN - 1188-4169
DOI - 10.14745/ccdr.v46i09a04
Subject(s) - demography , medicine , condom , military personnel , young adult , gerontology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , syphilis , family medicine , sociology , political science , law
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have historically been problematic for militaries. Recent reports indicating that rates of STIs among young male Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are higher than civilians prompted a need to better understand CAF members' reported rates of STIs and their behavioural risk factors for STIs. This study examined the prevalence of self-reported pre-military sexual behaviours (i.e. number of sexual partners and frequency of condom use) and history of a STI diagnosis among CAF recruits attending basic military training using data collected from the Recruit Health Questionnaire.