Condom Use for Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Among Hispanic Teenage Mothers: A Community-Based Randomized Trial

Development and psychometric evaluation of a Risky Sexual Behaviour Scale for Married Women (RSBS-MW) in Iran: a mixed-method study

A valid and reliable culture-based scale for the evaluation of risky sexual behaviours for married Iranian women is lacking. This study aimed to develop, and psychometrically test, a risky sexual behaviour scale for married Iranian women. A mixed-method sequential exploratory design was conducted from 2016 to 2020 in Tehran, Iran. First, a qualitative study was employed to define the concept of risky sexual behaviour using 16 semi-structured individual interviews and 10 focus group discussions (n = 100). Then, an item pool was generated, and the scale was developed. Finally, in the quantitative study, the psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated by validity and reliability tests. A maximum likelihood extraction with promax rotation was performed on 400 sexually active married women to assess the construct validity. The six components: (i) 'quality of sexual relations'; (ii) 'unusual pleasures in sexual relations'; (iii) 'sexual coercion'; (iv) 'verbal violence in sexual relations'; (v) 'self-care in sexual relations'; and (vi) 'concealment in sexual relations' could explain 57.49% of the total observed variance. The findings showed that the 27-item Risky Sexual Behaviour Scale (RSBS-MW) for married women in Iran has excellent internal consistency (α = 0.94) and stability (ICC = 0.98). Health care providers can use it to access risky sexual behaviours in married Iranian women.

Exploring the potential impact of human papillomavirus on infertility and assisted reproductive technology outcomes

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted disease that has been linked to both cancer and reproductive health issues. While its impact on fertility and pregnancy success has been studied, there is still too little evidence about the influence of HPV on assisted reproductive technology (ART). Therefore, there exists a need for HPV testing in couples undergoing infertility treatments. Infertile men have been found to have a higher prevalence of seminal HPV infection, which can compromise sperm quality and reproductive function. As such, it could be important to investigate the correlation between HPV and ART outcomes in order to improve the quality of evidence. Understanding the potentially detrimental effects of HPV on ART outcomes may have promising important implications for the management of infertility. This minireview summarizes the so far limited developments in this area and highlights the major need for further well-designed studies to address this issue.

"I always prefer to withdraw than use a condom": contextualising condomless sex among East Asian and sub-Saharan African international students in Sydney

BACKGROUND

Incidence and prevalence of blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections among young people continue to necessitate population-based studies to understand how contextualised sexual health services can be developed and implemented to promote protective behaviours such as consistent condom use. This study examined condomless sexual practice among a sample of East Asian and sub-Saharan African international university students in Sydney, Australia.

METHODS

This qualitative study was methodologically guided by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data was provided by 20 international students sampled from five universities in Sydney, who participated in either face-to-face or telephone semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interview sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded in NVivo and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Condomless sexual practices appear to be common among the study group based on participants' self-reports of their own practices and the practices of friends and peers. Three themes contextualising condomless among the study participants were generated from the interview transcripts: (1) unanticipated sex, condom related stigma and alcohol use (2) pleasure-seeking, curiosity and intimacy (3) condomless sex as a gendered practice.

CONCLUSIONS

The result of this study has implications for public health research, practice and policy around design, implementation and evaluation of multi-layered and population-specific sexual health services that are tailored to addressing the needs of international students, who  migrate from traditional sexual cultures to Australia, where sexual norms are more liberal.

Improving the Sexual Health of Young People (under 25) in High-Risk Populations: A Systematic Review of Behavioural and Psychosocial Interventions

Background: Ensuring young people experience good sexual health is a key public health concern, yet some vulnerable groups of young people remain at higher risk of poor sexual health. These individuals require additional support to achieve good sexual health but the best way to provide this remains needs to be better understood. Methods: We searched for randomised controlled trials of behavioural and psychosocial interventions aimed at promoting sexual health in high-risk young populations. Outcomes of interest were indicators of sexual health (e.g., condom use, attitudes to contraception, knowledge of risk). Participants were under 25 years old and in one of the following high-risk groups: alcohol and other drug use; ethnic minority; homeless; justice-involved; LGBTQI+; mental ill-health; or out-of-home care. Results: Twenty-eight papers from 26 trials met our inclusion criteria, with all but one conducted in North America. Condom use was the most frequently reported outcome measure along with knowledge and attitudes towards sexual health but considerable differences in measures used made comparisons across studies difficult. Change in knowledge and attitudes did not consistently result in long-term change in behaviours. Conclusions: There remains a dearth of research undertaken outside of North America across all high-risk groups of young people. Future interventions should address sexual health more broadly than just the absence of negative biological outcomes, with LGBTQI+, homeless and mental ill-health populations targeted for such work. An international consensus on outcome measures would support the research field going forward, making future meta-analyses possible.