Table 1.

Five categories of social and behavioural research as related to sexually transmissible infection (STI) prevention and care

	Definition
Individual Level
Adherence to prevention	Fidelity (or lack of) to prevention protocols, including primary prevention, treatment and post-treatment prevention
Disinhibition and risk compensation	Disregard of risk or consequences due to intoxication, anonymity or extremes of social power or influence (disinhibition)
	Engagement in one risk after reduced susceptibility or severity of another risk (risk compensation)
Population level
Coverage and prioritisation	Factors related to identifying key populations and aspects of social structure relevant to STI transmission dynamics to ascertain priorities for prevention
Social determinants of health	Characteristics of social structure (within or across societies) that affect access to and provision of prevention and health care
Disparities	Differences in rates or vulnerability to STI or sequelae, including differences in access to or provision of prevention and health care, as a function of sociodemographic characteristics or social position