Determinants of safe sexual behavior of female sex workers in Tehran: the woman, her network, and the sexual partner

Background Despite the steady growth of sexual transmission of HIV, there is little evidence about safe sexual behavior of FSWs, and social network effects on this behavior, in Iran. Our aim in this study was to determine the effect of social network characteristics on condom use among FSWs, considering individual characteristics of the FSWs and of their sexual partners, characteristics of their relationship, and the FSW’s personal network. Methods A cross-sectional ego-centric network survey of 170 FSWs was carried out in Tehran between January and June 2017. A multilevel ordered logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the effects of individual and relational characteristics simultaneously. Results Condom use in sexual relationships of the FSWs on average was rather low. Important determinants of safe sexual behavior were found both at the level of the individual FSW and at the level of the sexual partner. The main determinants at the level of the individual FSW were FSWs’ age and HIV knowledge. At the level of the sexual partner, age and education of sexual partners, as well as intimacy, duration of tie, frequency of contacts with a given partner, frequency of contact, perceived social support, and perceived safe sex norms were significantly associated with condom use. Conclusions The findings highlighted that considering only the individual characteristics of female sex workers is not sufficient for effectively promoting condom use. Factors at the network and dyadic level should also be considered, especially the role of sexual partners. Network-based interventions may be useful which modify social relationships to create a social environment that can facilitate changes in sexual behavior.

Development of a Measure to Assess What Young Heterosexual Adults Say They Learn About Sex from Pornography

This study involved the development of two new measures to assess what some young heterosexual-identifying adults report learning about sex from pornography. Inventory items were generated from an extensive literature review and six qualitative focus group sessions with young adults (N = 54) aged 18–29 which explored how pornography could be used as a source of sexual information. A total of 135 items pertaining to sexual learning from pornography were produced, reviewed and categorized by a sample of young adults (n = 9), and finally reviewed for item and construct relevance by a panel of pornography, sex education and scale development experts (n = 6). Inventory items were administered to a sample of young adult university students (n = 1306). Two separate exploratory factor analyses were conducted for the female and male datasets. The final factors were reviewed by a panel of young adults = 8) to identify the theme of each factor. Both the SIPI-F and SIPI-M yielded three factors: (1) How to be a good sexual partner, (2) Body aesthetic, and (3) Sexual exploration. Results show that pornography provides information about a range of sex-related topics. Findings also show that more frequent female pornography users reported learning more about how to be a good sexual partner and body aesthetic than less frequent pornography users. The SIPI-F and SIPI-M can be useful for examining a variety of questions regarding the use of pornography as an informal source of sexual information and its correlates.

872. Number of Sexual Partners and Patient-Reported Outcomes among Older Adults Living With HIV

Background Many older (age 50+) adults living with HIV (OALWH) are sexually active. However, little is known about the relationship between number of sexual partners and mental health outcomes among OALWH. Methods Data were utilized from the Aging with Dignity, Health, Optimism and Community (ADHOC) cohort, an observational study of OALWH from ten US clinics. To measure sexual activity, participants were asked “How many sexual partners have you had in the last year?” with response options ranging from zero to “greater than five.” Loneliness was measured using the Three-item Loneliness Scale, and depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. Significance was determined by Kruskal-Wallis tests followed by unadjusted pairwise comparisons. Results Of 1,027 participants, the mean (SD) age was 58.9 (6.1) and 876 (85%) were male. 312 (30%) had zero sexual partners in the past year, 308 (30%) had one partner, 197 (19%) had 2-5 partners, and 210 (20%) had >5 partners. Of the participants with one partner, 230 (75%) were married, coupled or partnered, and 78 (25%) were single, widowed, separated, or divorced (Single). Figure 1 shows that people with one partner were significantly less lonely than any other group (p< 0.01 for pairwise comparisons), and all other groups were statistically similar to each other. This pattern was also seen with depression (p< 0.01 for pairwise comparisons, Figure 2). Among subgroup of people with one sexual partner, those who were married, coupled or partnered were less lonely (4.41 vs. 5.67, p< 0.01) and less depressed (0.95 vs 1.38, p=0.02) than those who were single, widowed, separated, or divorced. Conclusion Among OALWH, people with one sexual partner were less lonely and depressed than people with zero or with ≥2 partners. Furthermore, people with one sexual partner who were married or in a committed relationship were less lonely and depressed than people with one sexual partner who were not. Disclosures Peter Mazonson, MD, MBA, ViiV Healthcare (Grant/Research Support) Jeff Berko, MPH, BS, ViiV Healthcare (Scientific Research Study Investigator) Theoren Loo, MPH, ViiV Healthcare (Grant/Research Support) Giselle D. Coelho, MD. MPHTM, Lilly (Research Grant or Support)Medscape, Clinical Care Options (Independent Contractor)Viiv, Gilead, Janssen (Advisor or Review Panel member, Research Grant or Support) Erik Lowman, MD, Gilead (Grant/Research Support)Janssen (Grant/Research Support)ViiV (Grant/Research Support) Peter Shalit, MD, PhD, Abbvie (Grant/Research Support)Gilead Sciences (Consultant, Grant/Research Support, Speaker’s Bureau)Glaxo Smithkline (Consultant, Grant/Research Support)Janssen (Consultant, Grant/Research Support, Speaker’s Bureau)Merck (Grant/Research Support, Speaker’s Bureau)Thera (Speaker’s Bureau)ViiV Healthcare (Speaker’s Bureau) Frank Spinelli, MD, ViiV Healthcare (Employee)

Aggressive behavior: from theory to practice

The problem of aggressive behaviour predicting remains important after decades of studying aggression. A large quantity of aggression theories and models do not allow to fully explain the aggressive behaviour emergence. Unified theory of aggressive behaviour proposes to regard aggression as a balance of provoking and limiting factors, which are based on adaptive problems: retention of a sexual partner, co-opting the resources of others, defending against attack, inflicting costs on same-sex rivals, negotiating status and power hierarchies, deterring rivals from future aggression, deterring mates from sexual infidelity. Factors of aggressive behaviour include the level of physiological arousal, negative or positive reinforcement of aggressive behaviour in the past, a state of frustration, aversive stimuli and the dominant emotion. Based on the proposed theory, a aggressive behaviour predicting scale is proposed, which allows to calculate the probability of aggressive behaviour, as well as its dynamics. The aggressive behaviour predicting scale is easy to use, does not take much time and allows to quantify and assess the probability of aggression.

Impact of peer education on sexual health knowledge among adolescents and young persons in two North Western states of Nigeria

Background Generally, social development among young people is largely influenced by their peers. Peer education is a proven and effective approach for promoting reproductive health among young people, especially HIV/AIDS education. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a peer-led education intervention in addressing sexual and reproductive health related knowledge and concerns among young people in Kaduna and Kano States, northwest Nigeria. Methods A pre and post-test study was conducted among 8930 young people aged 15–24 years who participated in the MTV Shuga Peer Education intervention selected from communities in Kaduna and Kano States. A baseline pre-test was conducted before the education program, and it was followed up with a post-test at the end of the five-day long peer education sessions. Results Majority of the respondents, 7846 (87.9%) were adolescents aged 15–19 years while the rest 1084 (12.1%) were young adults aged 20–24 years. A total of 6099 (68.3%) of the respondents correctly stated that condoms prevent pregnancy during the pre-test compared to 6429 (72.0%) peers during the post test. Lower abdominal pain was correctly indicated as a symptom of STI by 6282 (70.3%) and 6984 (78.2%) of the respondents at pre-test and post-test respectively. More males (58.5%) had good knowledge about condom use compared to the females, 51.9% (χ2 = 24.62, p < 0.001). while more females (79.6%) compared to 74.7% males opined that going for HIV test with their sexual partner is important to them during the pre-test (χ2 = 19.44, p≤ 0.001).However, no significant difference was observed on knowledge of condom use and opinion on going for HIV testing with sexual partner among either gender at post-test. Conclusion Significant positive changes in knowledge, views and opinions regarding STIs and HIV, HIV anti-stigma and the use of condoms were observed following exposure to the peer sessions of the MTV Shuga peer education intervention. Sustained exposure and access to informative and enlightening peer education sessions over time have the potential to comprehensively improve SRH knowledge, influence positive opinion change and in turn adoption of positive behaviours among young people.

Restoration of erectile function in men after prostate surgery in the immediate postoperative period: the needs assessment for patients and their partners to maintain sexual relations

Introduction. Despite the advances in the modern pharmacopoeia, a significant place is given to surgical methods of treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa). In the postoperative period in men, sexual function usually deteriorates.Purpose of the study. To study the needs of men after prostate surgery and their sexual partners in restoring their previous sexual life.Materials and methods. The pilot open-label prospective randomized non-comparative study included 50 patients in the age range of 53 – 74 years (average 58.3 years). All patients were consistently admitted and operated on at the “Avicenna” Medical Centre, Ltd. (Novosibirsk) from January to December 2020. Upon admission, all patients completed the International Index of Erectile Function (ICEF) questionnaire; one month later, this questionnaire was re-completed, supplemented with five questions.Results. Twenty-one patients were admitted with a diagnosis of PCa T1c – T2N0M0, all of them underwent laparoscopic prostatectomy with lymphadenectomy. Twenty-nine patients were operated on for BPH. They underwent transurethral resection with a bipolar resectoscope. Only 6 patients (12%) had no comorbidities. Surgical intervention worsened sexual function in all patients, while in men aged 50 – 59 years, the IIEF score decreased by 61.0%, at the age of 60 – 69 years by 39.0%, in patients over 70 years old by 55.2%. Eighteen (36.0%) patients showed interest in restoring sexual function. Thirty-two (64%) patients were against the continuation of sexual activity with the following motivation: 19 (59.4%) – lack of desire for a sexual partner, 8 (25.0%) – lack of desire of the patient himself, 5 (15.6%) – unwillingness to re-operated. Nineteen women out of 36 stable couples (52.8%) objected to the restoration of the sexual function of their sexual partners.Conclusion. Prostate surgery affects male sexual function more severely in younger patients. Thirty-two patients after surgery refused to restore sexual activity, in more than half of cases (59.4%) due to the unwillingness of the sexual partner to resume sexual relations.