Current practice of sexual history taking by sexual health physicians in Australia and New Zealand

Current practice of sexual history taking by sexual health physicians in Australia and New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES To document the current practice of fellows of the Australasian College of Sexual Health Physicians (ACSHP) when taking a sexual history from a new client. METHOD A postal questionnaire was sent to all eligible fellows practising sexual health medicine in public sexual health centres in Australia and New Zealand (n = 93). The study period extended from 3 February to 4 April 2003 in...

ABC of sexual health: taking a sexual history.

Many doctors are concerned about their ability to take an appropriate history from a patient with a sexual problem. The main difference from an ordinary medical history is that the patient (and often the doctor) is commonly embarrassed and uncomfortable. Patients may feel ashamed or even humiliated at having to ask for help with a sexual problem that they think is private and that they should b...

Attitudes to taking a sexual history in general practice in Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE To examine general practitioners' (GPs') attitudes towards taking a sexual history. METHODS Questions on sexual history taking were included in a random survey on the STD knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 600 GPs practising in Victoria, Australia. RESULTS Most GPs commonly asked patients about safe sex (79%), number of sex partners (63%), and injecting drug use (60%) while fe...

Sexual health in general practice: history and the partner history.

Introduction to history taking and principles of sexual health.

Sexual health has a profound influence over an individual's physical and psychological wellbeing. There is an increasing need to develop effective strategies to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) globally. Many STIs are asymptomatic and yet, highly infectious. The sequelae of such infections may be catastrophic and hence, an integrated multidisciplinary and preventat...