Men, bodily change and urethritis: a qualitative study

Sexual Health ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Pitts ◽  
A. M. A Smith ◽  
A. Mischewski ◽  
C. Fairley

Objectives: To describe how men narrate the process of bodily change as a trigger to presentation for a suspected sexually transmissible infection. Methods: The study was qualitative with 18 men presenting at a specialist sexual health centre in an urban setting. Results: All men gave narratives that included accounts of bodily changes prior to presentation. The nature, severity and persistence of those changes were unrelated to subsequent diagnosis. Men responded particularly to visual changes as cues to action. Conclusions: The men exhibited limited skills in understanding the significance and the specifics of bodily change as they may relate to a sexually transmissible infection. While these men identified a broad range of changes as potentially indicative of a sexually transmissible infection, their ability to act on visceral rather than visual cues appears constrained in that they were less able to respond to the feel of their body than the way that it looked.

Sexual Health ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa G. Gamage ◽  
Candice A. Fuller ◽  
Rosey Cummings ◽  
Jane E. Tomnay ◽  
Mark Chung ◽  
...  

Background ‘TESTme’ is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) screening service for Victorian young people living in rural areas. We evaluated the effectiveness of advertising for this service over an 11-month pilot period. Methods: The advertising that was used included websites, a Facebook page, posters, flyers, business cards, wrist bands and professional development sessions for health nurses that occurred throughout the pilot period. We also used once-off methods including advertisements in newspapers, student diaries and short messages to mobile phones. Results: Twenty-eight clients had a consultation through TESTme. Twenty found the service through health professionals, six through the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) web page, one through the Facebook page and one through the student diary. The total direct costs incurred by the centre for advertising were $20 850. The advertising cost per client reached for each advertising method was $26 for health professionals, $80 for the MSHC web advertisement, $1408 for Facebook and $790 for the student diary. Other advertising methods cost $12 248 and did not attract any clients. Conclusion: Advertising STI health services for rural young people would be best to focus on referrals from other health services or health care websites.


Sexual Health ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy Kwon ◽  
Anna McNulty ◽  
Phillip Read

Objectives Although Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) has a low profile in urban Australia, local data has estimated the prevalence in women to be 10 times higher when using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) versus wet mount microscopy (4.8% v. 0.4%). Our aim was to determine the prevalence of TV in Sydney women using both wet mount and PCR. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted of women requiring sexually transmissible infection screening at the Sydney Sexual Health Centre. Vaginal swabs were examined for TV using PCR and wet mount microscopy. Results: In total, 781 of 1263 eligible women were tested; 3 out of 781 tested positive by PCR and 1 out of 781 by wet mount, giving a prevalence of 0.38% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14–1.12%) and 0.13% (95% CI: 0.03–0.71%) respectively. There was not enough power to compare PCR and wet mount. Conclusions: The results of this analysis indicate that in our female urban population, TV is a very rare sexually transmissible infection,with 0.38% prevalence, and routine screening by PCR is not indicated.


2020 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
David Leitinger ◽  
Kathleen Ryan ◽  
Anna Lee Wilkinson ◽  
Alisa Pedrana ◽  
Margaret Hellard ◽  
...  

Sexual Health ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie A. Hendry ◽  
Graham Brown ◽  
Gary W. Dowsett ◽  
Marina Carman

Background Young adults, aged 18–30 years, comprise the largest proportion of sexually transmissible infection (STI) notifications in Australia compared with other age groups. Understanding the influence of partner and friendship networks on their STI testing practices may enhance health promotion efforts to increase testing for this group. Method: Participants aged 21–30 years, living in Australia for ≥3 years, were recruited within nightlife precincts in Melbourne, Australia. They completed a survey on demographic items, sexual health attitudes, sexual health knowledge and STI testing experiences and perceptions. Responses to items related to talking to partners and friends about STI testing were allocated partner and friend communication scores. Analyses included χ2 tests of independence and independent sample t-tests. Results: Overall, 36.5% (61/167) of participants had tested for STIs in the previous 12 months. Of those who had tested for STIs, most had significantly higher numbers of sexual partners in the same period (P < 0.05), and were significantly more likely to have felt at risk of STI acquisition (P < 0.05). Significantly greater mean partner and friend communication scores were associated with higher numbers of sexual partners, feeling at risk of STIs, and testing for STIs in the previous 12 months (all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences when participants were stratified by gender or age. Conclusion: Talking to partners and friends about STI testing is associated with testing rates for young adults. Feeling at risk and increased numbers of sexual partners may be associated with the promotion of STI testing among friends and partners.


Sexual Health ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric P. F. Chow ◽  
Tim R. H. Read ◽  
Matthew G. Law ◽  
Marcus Y. Chen ◽  
Catriona S. Bradshaw ◽  
...  

Background: Assortative mixing patterns have become a new and important focus in HIV/sexually transmissible infection (STI) research in recent years. There are very limited data on sexual mixing patterns, particularly in an Australian population. Methods: Male–female and male–male partnerships attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) between 2011 and 2014 were included. Correlation of age between two individuals within a partnership was examined by using Spearman’s rank correlation. The Newman’s assortativity coefficient was used as an aggregate quantitative measurement of sexual mixing for number of partners and condom use. Results: 1165 male–female and 610 male–male partnerships were included in the analysis. There was a strong positive correlation of age in both male–female (rho = 0.709; P < 0.001) and male–male partnerships (rho = 0.553; P < 0.001). The assortative mixing pattern for number of partners was similar in male–female (r = 0.255; 95% CI: 0.221–0.289) and male–male partnerships (r = 0.264; 95% CI: 0.218–0.309). There was a stronger assortative mixing pattern for condom use in male–male (r = 0.517, 95% CI: 0.465–0.569) compared with male–female (r = 0.382; 95% CI: 0.353–0.412) partnerships. Conclusion: Male–female and male–male partnerships have a high assortativity mixing pattern for age, number of partners and condom use. The sexual mixing pattern is not purely assortative, and hence it may lead to increased HIV and STI transmission in certain risk groups.


Sexual Health ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Eric P. F. Chow ◽  
Lenka A. Vodstrcil ◽  
Christopher K. Fairley

Background Previous studies have shown that there is a peak in sexually transmissible infection (STI) cases and sexual activities around summer, but there has been no study examining whether kissing also follows a similar seasonal pattern. The aim of this study was to examine the seasonal patterns of kissing and sex partners among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods: A short cross-sectional study was conducted among MSM attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre between March 2016 and February 2017. Participants were asked to report the number of kissing-only, sex-only and kissing-with-sex male partners in the last 3 months. The mean number of male partners was calculated and stratified by Australia’s seasons. The seasonal trend in the number of partners was assessed by negative binomial regression models. Results: In total, 4391 MSM were included in the analysis. The number of kissing-only and sex-only partners increased significantly from autumn to summer among MSM in Melbourne (Ptrend &lt;0.001). MSM reported the highest number of male partners for kissing-only (mean: 4.91; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 4.78–5.04) and sex-only (mean: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.83–1.99) around summer compared with other seasons. However, the number of kissing-with-sex partners remained stable across seasons. Conclusions: The study data suggest that there is a peak in kissing-only and sex-only partners among MSM around summer and holiday seasons.


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