Sexual health knowledge and risky sexual behaviour of Nepalese trekking guides
Sexual health knowledge and risky sexual behaviour of Nepalese trekking guides
Tourism, a global industry, brings with it a number of public health problems, one of which is the spread of sexually transmitted infections transmitted between travelers and hosts. Previous studies have largely focused on sex workers and sex tourists. This study assesses sexual behavior, knowledge and condom use among male trekking guides in Nepal. A self-administered questionnaire survey (n=324) was conducted using snowball sampling amongst men working as mountain trekking guides in Nepal. Most respondents (59%) had initiated sex before the age of 18. Most (84 %) reported sexual relations with a woman other than their partner, 46% reported foreign partners, 43% had Nepalese partners, and 28% had concurrent foreign and Nepalese partners. Most (70 %) reported ever having sex with a foreign woman and two-thirds had had sexual intercourse with foreign women in the previous 12 months. Participants age, education status, age of first sex, smoking and drinking habits and English proficiency were significant predictors of having sex with foreign women. About 60% reported condom use during their most recent occasion of extra-marital sex. A similar proportion had used a condom during last sexual intercourse with a foreign woman. The likelihood of condom use was associated with a guides age, educational level, ethnicity, age of first sex and work experience. Most trekking guides reported sexual relations with foreign women as well as irregular use of condoms. Although sexual health knowledge about among trekking guides is high, some misconceptions still result in unsafe sex. Hence there is an urgent need to revise the existing training for trekking guides and implement appropriate health promotion programmes.
reproductive health, condoms, lifestyle, tourism, himalayas
35-42
Simkhada, P
86112140-ed3d-4ca0-907c-a5c56d43c6bf
van Teijlingen, E
3ba30d18-a0e5-44ac-a6eb-d29adfb402ed
Regmi, P
52f5d61b-1dfc-4336-a488-f3dcc0e9985d
Bhatta, P
446335ce-1492-48be-8564-a6ef8ebf4534
Ingham, Roger
e3f11583-dc06-474f-9b36-4536dc3f7b99
Stone, Nicole
39001f79-4193-4106-9490-152c2f018958
Simkhada, P
86112140-ed3d-4ca0-907c-a5c56d43c6bf
van Teijlingen, E
3ba30d18-a0e5-44ac-a6eb-d29adfb402ed
Regmi, P
52f5d61b-1dfc-4336-a488-f3dcc0e9985d
Bhatta, P
446335ce-1492-48be-8564-a6ef8ebf4534
Ingham, Roger
e3f11583-dc06-474f-9b36-4536dc3f7b99
Stone, Nicole
39001f79-4193-4106-9490-152c2f018958
Simkhada, P, van Teijlingen, E, Regmi, P, Bhatta, P, Ingham, Roger and Stone, Nicole
(2015)
Sexual health knowledge and risky sexual behaviour of Nepalese trekking guides.
Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 1 (4), .
(doi:10.3126/jmmihs.v1i4.12000).
Abstract
Tourism, a global industry, brings with it a number of public health problems, one of which is the spread of sexually transmitted infections transmitted between travelers and hosts. Previous studies have largely focused on sex workers and sex tourists. This study assesses sexual behavior, knowledge and condom use among male trekking guides in Nepal. A self-administered questionnaire survey (n=324) was conducted using snowball sampling amongst men working as mountain trekking guides in Nepal. Most respondents (59%) had initiated sex before the age of 18. Most (84 %) reported sexual relations with a woman other than their partner, 46% reported foreign partners, 43% had Nepalese partners, and 28% had concurrent foreign and Nepalese partners. Most (70 %) reported ever having sex with a foreign woman and two-thirds had had sexual intercourse with foreign women in the previous 12 months. Participants age, education status, age of first sex, smoking and drinking habits and English proficiency were significant predictors of having sex with foreign women. About 60% reported condom use during their most recent occasion of extra-marital sex. A similar proportion had used a condom during last sexual intercourse with a foreign woman. The likelihood of condom use was associated with a guides age, educational level, ethnicity, age of first sex and work experience. Most trekking guides reported sexual relations with foreign women as well as irregular use of condoms. Although sexual health knowledge about among trekking guides is high, some misconceptions still result in unsafe sex. Hence there is an urgent need to revise the existing training for trekking guides and implement appropriate health promotion programmes.
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e-pub ahead of print date: February 2015
Keywords:
reproductive health, condoms, lifestyle, tourism, himalayas
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Local EPrints ID: 374238
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/374238
PURE UUID: ae0705a3-beac-452b-a4ad-2c948fd9f79a
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Date deposited: 10 Feb 2015 14:30
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:52
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Author:
P Simkhada
Author:
E van Teijlingen
Author:
P Regmi
Author:
P Bhatta
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