Identifying gaps in dual protection from sexually transmissible infections and unintended pregnancies among Australian women: an observational study
Lucy Watchirs Smith
A * , Bette Liu B , Louisa Degenhardt C , Juliet Richters A , Deborah Bateson D E , Anna Yeung F and Rebecca Guy A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
B School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
C National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
D Family Planning NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
E Centre for Social Research in Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
F MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sexual Health 18(6) 475-486 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH21151
Submitted: 4 August 2021 Accepted: 12 October 2021 Published: 6 December 2021
© 2021 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Background: Dual protection refers to the simultaneous prevention of sexually transmissible infection (STI) and unintended pregnancies. Optimal contraception and STI prevention strategies sometimes fail to align.
Methods: Using data from a large nationally representative population-based survey, we analysed the contraception and STI prevention behaviours at the last vaginal intercourse among 2420 heterosexually active women aged 16–34 years who had participated in the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships, 2012–13.
Results: At their last vaginal intercourse, most women (95%) used contraception and half (49%) used condoms, either as a sole multipurpose method or in conjunction with another type of contraception. Condom use was highest (72%) among women whose most recent partner was a casual or occasional partner, followed by women with a regular partner (59%) and women with a cohabiting regular partner (40%). One-third of the women (34%) used condoms as a sole method, and 14% used oral contraceptives together with a condom. Few women used implants or intrauterine devices (8%) and, among them, very few women also used condoms (<1%). Among the women who used a condom at their last vaginal intercourse, 49% reported both the correct use for STI prevention and consistent condom use during the previous 6 months. Among women using condoms, correct and consistent use was also highest among women whose most recent partner was a casual or occasional partner (76%).
Conclusions: Although almost all women used contraception and half used dual protection, few benefited from the protective effects of using condoms together with highly effective contraception.
Keywords: Australia, condoms, contraceptive use, health surveys, long-acting reversible contraception, safe sex, sexually transmissible infections, women.
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