TY - JOUR
T1 - Sexual and reproductive health during international travel
T2 - Expectations and experiences among female university students
AU - Martins, Summer L.
AU - Hellerstedt, Wendy L.
AU - Brady, Sonya S.
AU - Mason, Susan M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Objective To evaluate female students’ expectations and experiences related to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during international travel. Participants: Female students from a US university with a history of sex with men completed a cross-sectional survey about their upcoming (Pre-travelers; n = 170) or recent (Travelers; n = 340) international travel. Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to characterize pre-travel SRH expectations (for Pre-travelers) and to determine the prevalence of 15 SRH experiences during both recent and lifetime travel (for Travelers). Results: Pre-travelers overwhelmingly expected to be abstinent and many were unsure of whether SRH supplies would be accessible in their destination. During Travelers’ recent trip, SRH experiences included getting off schedule with contraception (30%), unwanted sexual touching (18%), new male sex partners (17%), and unexpected sex (15%); lifetime prevalence estimates were higher. Conclusions: International travel poses risks to female students’ SRH that can be addressed by pre-travel counseling from study-abroad programs and clinicians.
AB - Objective To evaluate female students’ expectations and experiences related to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during international travel. Participants: Female students from a US university with a history of sex with men completed a cross-sectional survey about their upcoming (Pre-travelers; n = 170) or recent (Travelers; n = 340) international travel. Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to characterize pre-travel SRH expectations (for Pre-travelers) and to determine the prevalence of 15 SRH experiences during both recent and lifetime travel (for Travelers). Results: Pre-travelers overwhelmingly expected to be abstinent and many were unsure of whether SRH supplies would be accessible in their destination. During Travelers’ recent trip, SRH experiences included getting off schedule with contraception (30%), unwanted sexual touching (18%), new male sex partners (17%), and unexpected sex (15%); lifetime prevalence estimates were higher. Conclusions: International travel poses risks to female students’ SRH that can be addressed by pre-travel counseling from study-abroad programs and clinicians.
KW - Contraception
KW - international travel
KW - sexually transmitted diseases
KW - student health services
KW - study abroad
KW - unintended pregnancy
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U2 - 10.1080/07448481.2020.1844717
DO - 10.1080/07448481.2020.1844717
M3 - Article
C2 - 33258743
AN - SCOPUS:85097033339
SN - 0744-8481
VL - 70
SP - 2108
EP - 2115
JO - Journal of American College Health
JF - Journal of American College Health
IS - 7
ER -
