SAN DIEGO — A survey of STD and HIV risk among adult patients at a primary care clinic showed that 44% had never been asked about sexual health and 18% had never had a prostate or pelvic exam.
Most surveys on risk behavior have targeted higher-risk populations in STD clinics, and few have addressed risk behaviors in a primary care setting, Dr. Diana Nurutdinova, the lead author, said in an interview during a poster session at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“In a primary care setting, there are a lot of missed opportunities for STD and HIV testing and counseling as well as assessing for risky behaviors,” said Dr. Nurutdinova of the department of medicine at the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
She and her associates at Washington University in St. Louis offered a self-administered survey to 718 primary care patients aged 18 and older. The survey had questions about demographics, sexual practices, risk-taking behavior, condom use, and prior history of STD/HIV testing.
The patients' mean age was 48 years, and 34% reported a past history of STD.
Dr. Nurutdinova said that 44% had never been asked about their sexual health by their primary care physicians and 18% had never had a prostate or pelvic exam. More than half (55%) reported being sexually active in the past 3 months. Of these, 24% were married, 58% reported never using a condom in the past 3 months, and 33% said they would not use a condom for their next sexual encounter.
In addition, 31% said that they had never been tested for HIV, 32% did not know their partner's HIV status, and 47% reported feeling comfortable discussing STDs with their primary care physicians.
Most participants had STD/HIV risk factors, but “a large fraction of this population reported never discussing their sexual health with a primary care provider,” the researchers wrote. “Ongoing routine assessment of behavioral risk is needed in the primary care setting.”