Survey: Few discuss HIV and STDs

A new national survey by Zogby and MSNBC.com shows that although most Americans say they are concerned about possibly contracting HIV or a sexually transmitted disease from their sex partners, few routinely talk with their partners about the diseases or their sexual histories, MSNBC.com reports. The survey of 56,000 Americans shows that just 39% of people always ask a new sex partner if that person is HIV-positive or has had another STD. One third say they never ask about their partners about HIV or STDs; among survey participants with less than a high school education, half said they never ask about HIV or STDs.

The survey showed that women were more likely to initiate discussions about HIV and STDs with their sex partners than men (48% and 33% respectively) and that African-Americans were more likely than Latinos or whites to talk about the diseases. About 42% of all the survey respondents said they were unaware of their current partner’s HIV status.

Julius Schachter, editor of the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, told MSNBC.com that one of the reasons for the low number of people knowing their partners’ HIV status is that many still view HIV as a disease affecting only white gay men and injection-drug users. Men also commonly believe that it is much more difficult for them to contract an STD from a woman than it is for women to be infected by men, Schachter added.

Alcohol and drug use significantly boosted rates of unprotected sex among survey participants and were the biggest risk factors for unsafe sex. About two thirds of the survey respondents said they had engaged in unprotected sex while under the influence of alcohol.

More than 60% of the survey respondents said they had sex within the day or previous week. About two thirds of the survey participants with a steady partner report having sex at least once per week; one quarter reported having sex more than three times per week. Nearly 25% of the male survey participants reported having had more than 25 sex partners; only 13% of women reported having had more than 25 partners. (Advocate.com)

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