AEGiS-14IAC: Increasing proportions of Sydney gay men never use condoms for anal intercourse with regular partners.

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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Increasing proportions of Sydney gay men never use condoms for anal intercourse with regular partners.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. ThOrD1491)

van de Ven P, Prestage G, Rawstorne P, Nakamura T, Crawford J, Kippax S, Grulich A
The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

BACKGROUND: To examine trends and factors associated with non-condom use among gay men in Sydney.

METHODS: Biannual cross-sectional surveys using self-complete questionnaires distributed at Fair Days, social and sex-on-premises venues, and clinics from 1996 to 2001. Data were annualised. Practices were assessed 'in the previous six months'.

RESULTS: Data were collected from 17026 men (response rate 76%). From 1996 to 2001, while any unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) among those with casual partners (n=12637) increased from 16.9% to 35.0% (trend p<.001) only small and stable proportions never used condoms, 2.2% to 3.2% (ns). By contrast, substantial and increasing proportions of those with regular partners (n=10980) never used condoms, 17.7% to 27.9% (trend p<.001), against a background of increasing UAI-regular from 40.1% to 55.8% (trend p<.001). In multivariate analyses, never using condoms (versus 100% condom use) with regular partners was independently associated with: longer-term, seroconcordant relationships; not having casual partners; spoken agreements not to use condoms within the relationship and not to have UAI with casual partners. The rising trend of never using condoms with regular partners remained significant after adjusting for changes in the other factors.

CONCLUSIONS: Never using condoms with regular partners has increased over time while such practice with casual partners remains rare. It is associated largely with factors to do with negotiated safety among longer-term, seroconcordant regular partners.

Keywords: AEGIS, Homosexuality, Male, Condoms, Safe Sex, Coitus, Negotiating, Questionnaires, Cross-Sectional Studies, Human, MaleKWDaegis,homosexuality,male,condoms,safesex,coitus,negotiating,questionnaires,cross-sectionalstudies,human,male

020707
ThOrD1491

Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.