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Sex tourist risk behaviour - An on-site survey among Swedish men buying sex in Thailand.

Manieri, Marco ; Svensson, Hampus and Stafström, Martin LU (2013) In Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 41(4). p.392-397
Abstract
Background: Thailand is not only a popular destination for Swedish tourists, it is also the foreign country where the largest numbers of Swedish males contract HIV. This study investigated sexual risk-behaviour of Swedish men who have sex with commercial sex workers (CSW) in Thailand. Method: Eligible men were approached on location in red-light districts of Pattaya and Bangkok with a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire in December 2010. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 18 generating cross-tabs, independent sample t-test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: In total, 158 questionnaires were included in the analyses. The results indicated that 63% of the study sample had lifetime... (More)
Background: Thailand is not only a popular destination for Swedish tourists, it is also the foreign country where the largest numbers of Swedish males contract HIV. This study investigated sexual risk-behaviour of Swedish men who have sex with commercial sex workers (CSW) in Thailand. Method: Eligible men were approached on location in red-light districts of Pattaya and Bangkok with a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire in December 2010. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 18 generating cross-tabs, independent sample t-test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: In total, 158 questionnaires were included in the analyses. The results indicated that 63% of the study sample had lifetime experience of sexual intercourse with CSWs, while 48% of the respondents indicated that they were likely to pay for sex during their present trip. 71% of the lifetime sex-buyers reported consistent use of condoms in the past. Out of the men that were planning to have sex with a CSW in the near future, 80% reported that they would use condoms consistently. While most of these men always use, and plan on always using a condom when having sex with a CSW, some do so inconsistently or not at all. The study found that those reporting inconsistent condom use when engaging in sexual intercourse with Thai CSWs assessed the risk of becoming infected with HIV to be significantly lower than those who used condoms consistently (p < 0.005). Conclusions: Inconsistent condom use by Swedish male tourists to Thailand when having sex with CSWs puts them at risk of contracting HIV and other STIs, and seems to be associated with a lower assessment of the risk of becoming infected with HIV. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
volume
41
issue
4
pages
392 - 397
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • wos:000318632600010
  • pmid:23470474
  • scopus:84877790584
  • pmid:23470474
ISSN
1651-1905
DOI
10.1177/1403494813480572
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
24d6f784-5522-402b-81f4-913746600250 (old id 3628448)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23470474?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:32:45
date last changed
2022-01-26 00:17:01
@article{24d6f784-5522-402b-81f4-913746600250,
  abstract     = {{Background: Thailand is not only a popular destination for Swedish tourists, it is also the foreign country where the largest numbers of Swedish males contract HIV. This study investigated sexual risk-behaviour of Swedish men who have sex with commercial sex workers (CSW) in Thailand. Method: Eligible men were approached on location in red-light districts of Pattaya and Bangkok with a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire in December 2010. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 18 generating cross-tabs, independent sample t-test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results: In total, 158 questionnaires were included in the analyses. The results indicated that 63% of the study sample had lifetime experience of sexual intercourse with CSWs, while 48% of the respondents indicated that they were likely to pay for sex during their present trip. 71% of the lifetime sex-buyers reported consistent use of condoms in the past. Out of the men that were planning to have sex with a CSW in the near future, 80% reported that they would use condoms consistently. While most of these men always use, and plan on always using a condom when having sex with a CSW, some do so inconsistently or not at all. The study found that those reporting inconsistent condom use when engaging in sexual intercourse with Thai CSWs assessed the risk of becoming infected with HIV to be significantly lower than those who used condoms consistently (p &lt; 0.005). Conclusions: Inconsistent condom use by Swedish male tourists to Thailand when having sex with CSWs puts them at risk of contracting HIV and other STIs, and seems to be associated with a lower assessment of the risk of becoming infected with HIV.}},
  author       = {{Manieri, Marco and Svensson, Hampus and Stafström, Martin}},
  issn         = {{1651-1905}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{392--397}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Scandinavian Journal of Public Health}},
  title        = {{Sex tourist risk behaviour - An on-site survey among Swedish men buying sex in Thailand.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1403494813480572}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/1403494813480572}},
  volume       = {{41}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}