Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jan;26(1):37-41.
doi: 10.1177/0956462414529096. Epub 2014 Apr 2.

"Do you think your main partner has other sex partners?" A simple question provides insight into sexual risk in Jamaica

Sharon S Weir  1 , J Peter Figueroa  2 , Lovette L Byfield  2 , Marion A Scott  3 , Marcia M Hobbs  4 , Jessie E Edwards  5 , Jacqueline P Duncan  6
Affiliations

"Do you think your main partner has other sex partners?" A simple question provides insight into sexual risk in Jamaica

Sharon S Weir et al. Int J STD AIDS. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

To estimate the association between a simple measure of sexual partner concurrency and sexually transmitted infection (STI) we conducted a cross-sectional population-based household survey (n = 1795) and targeted surveys of people at venues where people meet sexual partners (n = 1580) to ask about sexual behaviour. Persons interviewed at venues were tested for HIV, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. We compared the association between STI and reporting a partner had other partners. More women than men reported their main partner had other partners. Thirteen percent of all women in the population-based survey and 14.4% in the targeted survey reported having one partner in the past 12 months and that partner had additional partners. STI prevalence was significantly associated with reporting a partner had other partners (36.8% vs. 30.2%; prevalence ratio [PR] 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 1.4). Construction of complete sexual networks is costly and not routinely feasible. We recommend adding a question to cross-sectional surveys used to monitor sexual behaviour about whether the respondent believes his or her partner has other sexual partners. Although subject to bias, the question was useful in Jamaica to identify a group of women with only one sexual partner at increased risk of infection.

Keywords: North America; Sexually transmitted infection; epidemiology; partner concurrency; risk assessment; sexual behaviour.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1A
Figure 1A
Among Men and Women Reporting One Sexual Partner, Prevalence of STI/HIV Consistently Higher (9 of 10 Comparisons) Among Those Reporting Their Partner Has other Partners Among Respondents with 1 Partner Reports Partner Has Other Partners: (Ns) Men: Yes: 25; No: 108; Women: Yes: 120 ;No:119
Figure 1B
Figure 1B
Among Men and Women Reporting More than One Sexual Partner, Prevalence of STI/HIV Usually Higher (7 of 10 Comparisons) Among Those Reporting Their Partner Has other Partners Among Respondents with > 1 Partner Reports Partner Has Other Partners:(Ns) Men: Yes: 145; No: 306; Women:Yes:345;No:371
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Anderson RM, Garnett GP. Mathematical Models of the Transmission and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Sex Transm Dis. 2000;27:636–643. - PubMed
    1. Morris M, Kretzschmar M. Concurrent partnerships and the spread of HIV. AIDS. 1997;11:641–648. - PubMed
    1. Morris M, et al. Concurrent partnerships and HIV prevalence disparities by race: linking science and public health practice. American journal of public health. 2009;99:1023–1031. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Padian NS, Manian S. The concurrency debate: time to put it to rest. Lancet. 2011;378:203–204. - PubMed
    1. Aral SO. Partner Concurrency and the STD/HIV Epidemic. Current infectious disease reports. 2010;12:134–139. - PubMed

Publication types