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Objectives: To identify the prevalence and correlates of engaging in unprotected sex while experiencing symptoms of gonorrhea among a sample of men with a laboratory confirmed diagnosis.Methods: Cross-sectional interview data were analyzed from 237 men, reporting dysuria or discharge, with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of gonorrhea.Results: A total of 21.1% reported engaging in unprotected sex while having symptoms. In multivariate analyses, men engaging in sex > or = 5 times in the past 30 days were 3.5 times more likely to report unprotected sex while symptomatic (P = 0.001). Men reporting condom use < or = 50% of the time (past month) were 2.7 times more likely to report the risk behavior under investigation (P = 0.008). Men never having a previous STD were 2.7 times more likely to engage in the risk behavior (P = 0.006).Conclusions: The prevalence of this risk behavior was markedly lower compared to a recent study that was not restricted to gonorrhea. Counseling protocols specifically designed for men who continue to engage in unprotected sex after experiencing gonorrhea-related dysuria and discharge may be valuable for preventing the transmission of gonorrhea to women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In an attempt to increase high school students' sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health partnered with ICF and Chicago Public Schools to adapt and implement the "GYT: Get Yourself Tested" health marketing campaign for a high school., Methods: Clinic record data and student retrospective self-report surveys (n = 193) tested for differences between the GYT intervention school and a comparison school on a number of outcomes, including human immunodeficiency virus and STD testing., Results: Clinic record data showed that testing increased significantly more for the intervention than the comparison school during the GYT implementation period (B, 2.9; SE, 1.1, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the odds of being tested at the referral clinic were more than 4 times (odds ratio, 4.4) as high for students in the campaign school than for those in the comparison school (95% confidence interval, 2.3-8.2). Survey data did not show increased self-reported testing but, more students in the GYT school (92.7%) were aware of where to receive free, low-cost, or affordable human immunodeficiency virus and STD testing than students in the comparison school (76.0%; P < 0.01). Among sexually experienced students (n = 142), significantly more from the campaign school reported that they intended to test for STDs in the next 3 months (48.4% strongly agree and 33.2% agree) compared with those at the comparison school (27.4% strongly agree and 32.9% agree; P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Our pilot suggests that a student-led GYT campaign in high schools may successfully increase STD testing of students. Although some of the findings from this pilot evaluation are promising, they are limited, and broader implementation and evaluation is needed. Future evaluation efforts can include more rigorous study designs, multiple schools or districts, longer campaign and evaluation across an entire school or calendar year, or in combination with other school-based testing strategies like a mass school-based screening event.

Background: Although the Internet is one of the most commonly accessed resources for health information, finding information on local sexual health services, such as sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing, can be challenging. Recognizing that most quests for online health information begin with search engines, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the extent to which online information about local STD/HIV testing services can be found using Google., Methods: Queries on STD and HIV testing services were executed in Google for 6 geographically unique locations across the United States. The first 3 websites that resulted from each query were coded for the following characteristics: (1) relevancy to the search topic, (2) domain and purpose, (3) rank in Google results, and (4) content., Results: Websites hosted at .com (57.3%), .org (25.7%), and .gov (10.5%) domains were retrieved most frequently. Roughly half of all websites (n = 376) provided information relevant to the query, and about three-quarters (77.0%) of all queries yielded at least 1 relevant website within the first 3 results. Searches for larger cities were more likely to yield relevant results compared with smaller cities (odds ratio [OR] = 10.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.6, 17.9). On comparison with .com domains, .gov (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.4, 5.6) and .org domains (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.7, 4.8) were more likely to provide information of the location to get tested., Discussion: Ease of online access to information about sexual health services varies by search topic and locale. Sexual health service providers must optimize their website placement so as to reach a greater proportion of the sexually active population who use web search engines.

Background: Previous studies have shown that racial/ethnic and gender disparities in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STI) may be due in part to factors such as poverty and income-inequality. Little has been published in the HIV/STI literature on the effect of the perception of having unmet basic needs on sexual risk behavior., Methods: Data on perceived financial need and sexual risk were collected as part of a behavioral intervention aimed at promoting STI partner notification and reducing sexual behavior among minority patients presenting for care at 1 of 2 STI treatment centers in Brooklyn, NY, between January 2002 and December 2004. Data from 528 participants collected at the 6-month follow-up visit were used for the current study., Results: Forty-three percent of participants were categorized as having unmet needs. Those with unmet needs were more likely to report unprotected anal or vaginal sex (unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse [UAVI]; 62%) versus those who had met needs (53%). This association was significant (adjusted odds ratio=1.28; 95% confidence interval=1.04-1.53), after controlling for age, sex, site of recruitment, intervention group membership, and country of origin. Stratified analyses indicated that, in the group that did not receive the intervention, there was a statistically significant interaction between sex and basic needs such that women with unmet needs were more likely to report any UAVI (78%) than those with met needs (54%) (adjusted odds ratio=1.18; 95% confidence interval=1.07-1.24). No such relationship was detected for men in this sample., Conclusions: The significant association between perceived unmet needs and UAVI appears to be particularly relevant for women. These findings provide preliminary evidence that HIV/STI intervention components that seek to directly deal with issues of reduction in partner conflict might be beneficial to women with high perceived unmet basic needs, and for whom a potential dissolution of a relationship may represent a further loss in ability to meet basic needs.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake is low among adolescent girls in the United States. We sought to identify longitudinal predictors of HPV vaccine initiation in populations at elevated risk for cervical cancer., Methods: We interviewed a population-based sample of parents of 10- to 18-year-old girls in areas of North Carolina with elevated cervical cancer rates. Baseline interviews occurred in summer 2007 and follow-up interviews in fall 2008. Measures included health belief model constructs., Results: Parents reported that 27% (149/567) of their daughters had initiated HPV vaccine between baseline and follow-up. Of parents who at baseline intended to get their daughters the vaccine in the next year, only 38% (126/348) had done so by follow-up. Of parents of daughters who remained unvaccinated at follow-up but had seen a doctor since baseline, only 37% (122/388) received an HPV vaccine recommendation. Rates of HPV vaccine initiation were higher among parents who at baseline perceived lower barriers to getting HPV vaccine, anticipated greater regret if their daughters got HPV because they were unvaccinated, did not report "needing more information" as the main reason they had not already vaccinated, intended to get their daughters the vaccine, or were not born-again Christians., Conclusions: Missed opportunities to increase HPV vaccine uptake included unrealized parent intentions and absent doctor recommendations. While several health belief model constructs identified in early acceptability studies (e.g., perceived risk, perceived vaccine effectiveness) were not longitudinally associated with HPV vaccine initiation, our findings suggest correlates of uptake (e.g., anticipated regret) that offer novel opportunities for intervention.