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Sexual Risk (sexual + risk)
Terms modified by Sexual Risk Selected AbstractsHighly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among HIV-infected drug users: a prospective cohort study of sexual risk and injecting behaviourADDICTION, Issue 3 2006Colette Smit ABSTRACT Aims To study sexual risk and injecting behaviour among HIV-infected drug users (DU) receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)., Design and setting As part of an ongoing prospective cohort study, HIV-infected DU who commenced HAART (n = 67) were matched with those not starting HAART (n = 130) on CD4 cell counts, duration of cohort participation, age and calendar year of visit. Immunological and virological responses of the HAART-treated DU were compared with the HAART-treated homosexual men from the same cohort (n = 212). Measurements Trends in behaviour and therapeutic response were tested with a logistic regression model adjusted for repeated measurements and a piecewise random effects model, respectively. Findings Non-HAART users reported more episodes of injecting than HAART users. In both groups injecting declined over time with no effect of HAART initiation. Before HAART initiation an increase in sexual risk behaviour was observed among those who had been assigned to receive HAART; their sexual risk behaviour declined thereafter. No change in sexual risk behaviour was found among non-HAART users. Relative to homosexual men, DU had a similar initial therapeutic response, but DU started HAART at lower CD4 cell counts and higher viral load levels. Conclusion DU who are treated with HAART are not increasing their risk behaviour, and their early response to HAART is similar to homosexual men. However, before the treated DU received HAART they were seen to inject less often than those not treated with HAART. This suggests that selection of potential HAART starters is based on limited drug use. Although the DU who commence HAART are a selected group, our results show that HIV-infected DU can be treated effectively. [source] Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis among injecting drug users in Russia: a multi-city studyADDICTION, Issue 2 2006Tim Rhodes ABSTRACT Objectives To estimate the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis in injecting drug users (IDUs) in Russia. Methods Unlinked anonymous cross-sectional survey of 1473 IDUs recruited from non-treatment settings in Moscow, Volgograd and Barnaul (Siberia), with oral fluid sample collection for HIV, HCV antibody (anti-HIV, anti-HCV) and syphilis testing. Results Prevalence of antibody to HIV was 14% in Moscow, 3% in Volgograd and 9% in Barnaul. HCV prevalence was 67% in Moscow, 70% in Volgograd and 54% in Barnaul. Prevalence of positive syphilis serology was 8% in Moscow, 20% in Volgograd and 6% in Barnaul. Half of those HIV positive and a third of those HCV positive were unaware of their positive status. Common risk factors associated with HIV and HCV infection across the cities included both direct and indirect sharing of injecting equipment and injection of home-produced drugs. Among environmental risk factors, we found increased odds of anti-HIV associated with being in prison in Moscow, and some association between official registration as a drug user and anti-HIV and anti-HCV. No associations were found between sexual risk behaviours and anti-HIV in any city. Conclusions HIV prevalence among IDUs was markedly higher than city routine surveillance data suggests and at potentially critical levels in terms of HIV prevention in two cities. HCV prevalence was high in all cities. Syphilis prevalence highlights the potential for sexual risk and sexual HIV transmission. Despite large-scale testing programmes, knowledge of positive status was poor. The scaling-up of harm reduction for IDUs in Russia, including sexual risk reduction, is an urgent priority. [source] Risk and protective behaviours of bisexual minority women: a qualitative analysisINTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 2 2005J. D. Champion phd Background, Public health messages urging women to seek health care services such as sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and cervical cancer screening or family planning services fail to address women who have sex with women (WSW). This negligence may have led to a false sense of security amongst WSW concerning sexual risk behaviour. Research has shown that WSW engaged in more high-risk sexual behaviours than heterosexual women. WSW has been identified as an important vector in the spread of STDs in all populations because of bisexuality. To prevent and reduce transmission of STDs amongst WSW, perceptions of risk for STD amongst WSW need to be understood so that effective interventions may be developed. Aim, To describe the relationship between sexual risk and protective behaviour and STD transmission amongst bisexual minority women with a history of STD. Methods, Life history methods were used to interview 23 African-American bisexual women with a history of STD. Findings, Various themes unfolded during analysis of the patient interviews, including bisexual women's perceptions of STD risk, the context of sexual relationships with women and STD prevention, screening, and treatment practices. Conclusions, The contexts of sexual relationships including multiple or concurrent partner relationships with both men and women placed these women at high risk for STD. Regardless of the type of relationship or belief it is possible to get an STD, protection was often not used. These circumstances identify an extremely high-risk population of women with need for more extensive research to identify strategies for health care interventions. [source] Sexual Protective Strategies of Late Adolescent Females: More Than Just CondomsJOURNAL OF OBSTETRIC, GYNECOLOGIC & NEONATAL NURSING, Issue 4 2001M. Katherine Hutchinson RN Objective: To identify the sexual protective strategies of late adolescent heterosexual women. Design: Open-ended questioning regarding sexual protective strategies was included in a larger cross-sectional survey on sexual risk. Participants' responses were recorded verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. Participants: 234 African American, Hispanic/Latina, and non-Hispanic white 19- to 21-year-old females were recruited from the driver's license records of a mid-Atlantic state. Main Outcome Measures: Participants re-1 to the on-ended question, "How or what do you do to reduce your risk for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV?" Results: Seven primary sexual protective strategies were identified from participants' responses: using condoms, abstaining or postponing sexual intercourse, getting tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted diseases (SIDs), selecting safe partners, negotiating condom use, talking about sexual risk histories, and limiting the number of sexual partners. Conclusions: Some of the sexual protective strategies identified by study participants were less than effective and left young women vulnerable to infection with HIV and STDs. In addition, the use of these alternative strategies may leave young women feeling less at risk and thus less likely to use other more effective strategies such as condoms. The implications for nursing practice and the assessment of the sexual protective strategies of young heterosexual women are discussed. [source] The HPV Vaccine: Framing the Arguments FOR and AGAINST Mandatory Vaccination of All Middle School GirlsJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 6 2008Cheryl A. Vamos MPH ABSTRACT Background:, Human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for cervical cancer, is the most common viral sexually transmitted infection in the United States. A vaccine was approved in 2006 that is effective in preventing the types of HPV responsible for 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. Proposals for routine and mandatory HPV vaccination of girls have become sources of controversy for parents of school-aged youth, legislators, members of the medical community, and the public at large. Methods:, The purpose of this article was to articulate the arguments used by advocates who either oppose or endorse routine, mandatory administration of the vaccine to school-aged girls, thereby assisting school health personnel in being effective participants in framing the relevant issues. Results:, Controversy is grounded in moral, religious, political, economic, and sociocultural arguments including whether concerns that the vaccine increases sexual risk taking, sends mixed messages about abstaining from sexual intercourse, usurps parental authority, and increases the potential for development of new health disparities are offset by the value of administering a cost-effective, age-appropriate public health measure targeting a life-threatening problem. Conclusions:, Careful consideration of the medical evidence and public health implications is critical but understanding the context of the debate is no less important to the task of responding to public concerns. School health personnel have a role in the discussion about HPV immunization. Being able to articulate the arguments presented herein can help authorities' responsiveness to parents and community groups as the dialogue about this particular health issue evolves further. [source] Boyfriends, Girlfriends and Teenagers' Risk of Sexual InvolvementPERSPECTIVES ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, Issue 2 2006Barbara VanOss Marín CONTEXT: Having a boyfriend or girlfriend, especially an older one, is associated with increased sexual risk in early adolescence. The mechanisms underlying this association are unclear. METHODS: Middle school students in Northern California were surveyed annually from 1997 to 2000. For a sample of 1,214 males and 1,308 females who were sexually inexperienced in seventh grade, logistic and linear regression were used to explore associations between relationship status in seventh grade and sexual activity in ninth grade, controlling for sixth-grade and eighth-grade characteristics. RESULTS: Males who had had a girlfriend their age by seventh grade were more likely than those who had had no relationship to report sexual activity in ninth grade (odds ratio, 2.1). Similarly, for females, the odds of being sexually active in ninth grade were elevated among those who had had a boyfriend their age (2.9); however, they also were higher among those who had had an older boyfriend than among those who had had one their age (2.1). With sixth-grade risk factors controlled, relationship status in seventh grade remained significant only for females; the association was explained by early menarche and by participation in situations that could lead to sex and riskier peer norms in eighth grade. For males, eighth-grade situations that could lead to sex, Hispanic ethnicity and sixth-grade peer norms explained ninth-grade sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the risk of adolescent sexual activity, parents and communities should encourage youth in middle school, especially females who experience early menarche, to delay serious romantic relationships. [source] Community-Building Before, During, and After Times of Trauma: The Application of the LINC Model of Community Resilience in KosovoAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2010Ferid Agani A family's heritage and values have profound bearing on the stressors they encounter and how they cope. Socioeconomic change, natural and man-made disasters, and international migration are major influences on the integrity of society. In these times of global financial crisis, communities around the world are in danger of losing their intrinsic structure and protective factors. Connectedness or attachment to family and culture of origin correlate with reduced risk-taking behaviors and a reduction in family and societal violence, posttraumatic stress, addiction, depression, suicidality, sexual risk taking, and other chronic and/or life-threatening health problems and illnesses. Facilitating these families' cultural and community ties and enhancing their access to extended-family and community resources can thus be protective against trauma. These relationships foster resilience and reduce the short- and long-term effects of stress on families and communities. Targets of interventions may be individuals, families, or communities. Assessment of vulnerabilities, protective factors, goals, and resources encourages and facilitates collaboration across natural and artificial support systems. Such collaboration is important in building resilience rather than perpetuating vulnerability and long-term problems for individuals, their families, and the communities in which they live. The recent Kosovar experience in implementing the LINC Model of Community Resilience illustrates these principles, as applied in the context of substance abuse services and community rebuilding in the period soon after armed conflict. [source] Sexual Health Among U.S. Black and Hispanic Men and Women: A Nationally Representative StudyTHE JOURNAL OF SEXUAL MEDICINE, Issue 2010Brian Dodge PhD ABSTRACT Introduction., Little is known about the prevalence of sexual behaviors among the black and Hispanic populations in the United States outside the context of sexual risk and disease transmission in "high-risk" samples. Aim., This study sought to establish current rates of sexual behaviors, sexual health care practices (i.e., experiences with testing and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections [STIs]), and condom use in a probability sample of black and Hispanic adult men and women in the United States. Main Outcome Measures., Sexual behaviors including solo masturbation, partnered masturbation, receiving oral sex and giving oral sex, vaginal intercourse, and anal intercourse were assessed. Self-reported rates of HIV and other STI testing, and self-reported history of STI diagnosis were examined. Also assessed were rates of condom use during most recent and past 10 vaginal intercourse events. Methods., Data from a probability sample of 1246 black and Hispanic adults were analyzed to explore sexual behaviors, condom use, and STI testing and diagnosis trends. Results., Masturbation, oral sex, and vaginal intercourse were prevalent among black and Hispanic men and women throughout the life course. Anal intercourse and same-gender sexual activities were less common. Self-reported rates of HIV testing were relatively high but varied by gender across age groups. Similarly, rates of testing for other STI were high and differed by gender across age groups. Overall rates of condom use among black and Hispanic men and women were relatively high and did not appear to be related to a variety of situational factors including location of sexual encounter, relationship status, other contraceptive use, and substance use during sexual activity. Conclusion., These data provide a foundation for understanding diverse sexual behaviors, sexual health-care practices, and condom use among the general population of black and Hispanic men and women in the United States. Dodge B, Reece M, Herbenick D, Schick V, Sanders SA, and Fortenberry JD. Sexual health among U.S. black and Hispanic men and women: a nationally representative study. J Sex Med 2010;7(suppl 5):330,345. [source] Differential correlates to self-report and parent-report of callous,unemotional traits in a sample of juvenile sexual offendersBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 6 2009Stuart F. White M.A. The association of callous,unemotional (CU) traits with violence and severe antisocial behavior has led to a recent focus on the association between CU traits and sexual offending behavior. When assessing juveniles with sexual offenses, practice standards recommend that multiple sources of data are considered. However, the differential correlates of parent-report versus self-report of CU traits in juvenile sex offenders have not been investigated. A sample of 94 detained male youth (mean age,=,15.22, SD,=,1.48) was administered both youth and parent versions of the Inventory of Callous,Unemotional Traits (ICU), a general delinquency risk assessment tool (YLS), and a sexual offending risk assessment tool (J-SOAP-II) to investigate concordance between self-report and parent-report of CU traits as well as association with general and sex-specific risk factors. Both parent-report and self-report of CU traits were significantly related to higher general delinquency risk scores, with parent-report showing stronger correlations than self-report. Both parent-report and self-report were related to sex-specific risk factors. However, only parent-report significantly predicted static sexual risk, while self-report significantly predicted dynamic sexual risk scores. Evidence supports the importance of including both parent- and self-report of CU traits in the comprehensive assessment of sexually offending youth. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||