Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices
Abstract Objective: Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rising among older Australians. We conducted a large survey of older people's knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. Methods: A total of 2,137 Australians aged 60 years and older completed the survey, which included...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12655 |
| _version_ | 1797763213667860480 |
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| author | Anthony Lyons Wendy Heywood Bianca Fileborn Victor Minichiello Catherine Barrett Graham Brown Sharron Hinchliff Sue Malta Pauline Crameri |
| author_facet | Anthony Lyons Wendy Heywood Bianca Fileborn Victor Minichiello Catherine Barrett Graham Brown Sharron Hinchliff Sue Malta Pauline Crameri |
| author_sort | Anthony Lyons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective: Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rising among older Australians. We conducted a large survey of older people's knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. Methods: A total of 2,137 Australians aged 60 years and older completed the survey, which included 15 questions assessing knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. We examined both levels of knowledge and factors associated with an overall knowledge score. Results: In total, 1,652 respondents reported having sex in the past five years and answered all knowledge questions. This group had good general knowledge but poorer knowledge in areas such as the protection offered by condoms and potential transmission modes for specific STIs. Women had better knowledge than men. Men in their 60s, men with higher education levels, and men who thought they were at risk of STIs reported better knowledge than other men. Knowledge was also better among men and women who had been tested for STIs or reported ‘other’ sources of knowledge on STIs. Conclusions: Many older Australians lack knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. Implications for public health: To reverse current trends toward increasing STI diagnoses in this population, policies and education campaigns aimed at improving knowledge levels may need to be considered. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:39:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6598f03ce12d41098e11e8405d0891d8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1326-0200 1753-6405 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T19:39:22Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-6598f03ce12d41098e11e8405d0891d82023-08-02T03:58:06ZengElsevierAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health1326-02001753-64052017-06-0141325926110.1111/1753-6405.12655Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practicesAnthony Lyons0Wendy Heywood1Bianca Fileborn2Victor Minichiello3Catherine Barrett4Graham Brown5Sharron Hinchliff6Sue Malta7Pauline Crameri8Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaAustralian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaAustralian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaAustralian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaAustralian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaAustralian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaSchool of Nursing and Midwifery University of Sheffield United KingdomNational Ageing Research Institute University of Melbourne VictoriaAustralian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health La Trobe University VictoriaAbstract Objective: Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rising among older Australians. We conducted a large survey of older people's knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. Methods: A total of 2,137 Australians aged 60 years and older completed the survey, which included 15 questions assessing knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. We examined both levels of knowledge and factors associated with an overall knowledge score. Results: In total, 1,652 respondents reported having sex in the past five years and answered all knowledge questions. This group had good general knowledge but poorer knowledge in areas such as the protection offered by condoms and potential transmission modes for specific STIs. Women had better knowledge than men. Men in their 60s, men with higher education levels, and men who thought they were at risk of STIs reported better knowledge than other men. Knowledge was also better among men and women who had been tested for STIs or reported ‘other’ sources of knowledge on STIs. Conclusions: Many older Australians lack knowledge of STIs and safer sexual practices. Implications for public health: To reverse current trends toward increasing STI diagnoses in this population, policies and education campaigns aimed at improving knowledge levels may need to be considered.https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12655sexually transmitted diseasessexually transmitted infectionssexual healthsafer sexageingaging |
| spellingShingle | Anthony Lyons Wendy Heywood Bianca Fileborn Victor Minichiello Catherine Barrett Graham Brown Sharron Hinchliff Sue Malta Pauline Crameri Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health sexually transmitted diseases sexually transmitted infections sexual health safer sex ageing aging |
| title | Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices |
| title_full | Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices |
| title_fullStr | Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices |
| title_short | Sexually active older Australian's knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices |
| title_sort | sexually active older australian s knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and safer sexual practices |
| topic | sexually transmitted diseases sexually transmitted infections sexual health safer sex ageing aging |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12655 |
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