Behavioural Surveillance Surveys - The Wisdom of Whores

Adult Indicator 4
Condom use at last sex with
a non-regular, non-commercial
partner
Definition
Numerator :
Number of male/female
respondents who used a
condom the last time they had
sex with a non-regular (i.e.
non-spousal, non-cohabiting
and non-commercial) partner
Denominator : Number of male/female
respondents who have
had sex with at least one
non-regular partner in the
past 12 months
Measurement tools
Adult questionnaire
Q603
What it measures
If everyone used condoms every time they
had sex with a non-marital or non-cohabiting
partner, a heterosexually transmitted HIV
epidemic would be almost impossible to
sustain. While AIDS programs may try to
reduce casual partnerships, they must also,
if they are to succeed in curbing the epidemic,
promote condom use in the casual partnerships
that remain. This indicator tracks changes in
condom use in these partnerships.
How to measure it
Respondents are asked whether they
used a condom the last time they had sex
with each of the three partner types listed
(spouse or regular partner, non-regular
partner, or commercial partner). Those who
report condom use at last sex with a partner
in the second category enter the numerator
for this indicator. The denominator is all men/
women reporting sex with a non-regular
partner (excluding commercial partners)
in the last 12 months.
Strengths and limitations
A rise in this indicator is an extremely
powerful indication that condom promotion
campaigns are having the desired effect
among their principle target market.
Asking about the most recent sex act with a
non-regular partner minimizes recall bias and
gives a good cross-sectional picture of levels
of condom use. One of the principal goals of
HIV prevention efforts is to increase consistent
condom use with all non-regular partners.
This indicator cannot provide measures of
consistency, which are covered in Adult
Indicator 5. Inevitably, though, if consistent
use rises, this indicator will also rise. Many
years of use have proven this indicator to be
very robust.
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C H A PTER 9 B EHAV I OR A L S U R V EI L L A NC E S U R V EY S