Planned sexual behaviour of young Australian visitors to Thailand
Mulhall, B.P.; Hu, M.; Thompson, M.; Lin, F.; Lupton, D.; Mills, D.; Maund, M.; Cass, R.; Millar, D.
Medical Journal of Australia 158(8): 530-535
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0025-729X PMID: 8487717 Document Number: 330357
This study was conducted to research the knowledge of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among young Australian tourists to Thailand and their intended sexual behavior. 213 consecutive patients seeking pre-travel medical advice in private clinics in 5 Australian cities were sampled in a cross-sectional survey. Participants were traveling without a sex partner. They were of mean age 26.9 years with a range of 18-62 years and included 5 male homosexuals, 2 female homosexuals, and 2 male bisexuals. There were 133 males and 80 females. The median length of stay for remaining 144 of the study participants visiting only Thailand was 6 week and 24 weeks for the remaining 69 participants intending to visit other countries. 34% reported a definite intention not to have sex in Thailand. 13.7% of the men, however, planned to have sex with a female prostitute. 24.5% more men than women said they would have sex with a Thai national, but 21.7% more women than men said they would choose to sleep with a fellow Australian traveller. 82% said they would use condoms 100% of the time. In sum, many young Australians are likely to have sex while visiting Thailand. Planners should take note of these findings when developing education and prevention programs to control the spread of HIV and other STDs.