Table 2.
Worry about COVID-19 risk during sex and use of risk reduction strategies among sexual health service clients stratified by number of partners since start of the pandemic in BC
| Variable | Total N = 1196 |
0–1 partner N = 690 |
2+ partners N = 506 |
p value | Unadjusted odds ratios [99% CI] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worry about getting COVID-19 during sexual encounters during phase 1 | < 0.001 | ||||
| Not at all worried |
421/1189 (35%) |
311/683 (46%) | 110/506 (22%) | Reference | |
| Somewhat worried |
454/1189 (38%) |
209/683 (31%) | 245/506 (48%) | 3.31 [2.29, 4.84] | |
| Very worried |
169/1189 (14%) |
81/683 (12%) | 88/506 (17%) | 3.07 [1.89, 5.03] | |
| Extremely worried |
145/1189 (12%) |
82/683 (12%) | 63/506 (12%) | 2.17 [1.29, 3.65] | |
| Worry about getting COVID-19 during sexual encounters during phase 2 | < 0.001 | ||||
| Less worried |
307/1187 (26%) |
118/682 (17%) | 189/505 (37%) | 3.20 [2.24, 4.60] | |
| No change |
770/1187 (65%) |
513/682 (75%) | 257/505 (51%) | Reference | |
| More worried |
110/1187 (9%) |
51/682 (7%) |
59/505 (12%) | 2.31 [1.36, 3.94] | |
| Use of strategies to reduce risk of getting or passing COVID-19 infection during sexual encounters (any) (vs. not) | 1086/1194 (91%) | 605/689 (88%) | 481/505 (95%) | < 0.001 | 2.78 [1.54, 5.34] |
| Risk reduction strategies used* (vs. not) | |||||
| Masturbation |
582/1086 (54%) |
293/605 (48%) | 289/481 (60%) | < 0.001 | 1.60 [1.17, 2.21] |
| Asking partners about symptoms of COVID-19 or their COVID-19 precautions |
527/1086 (49%) |
211/605 (35%) | 316/481 (66%) | < 0.001 | 3.58 [2.58, 4.99] |
| Limiting sex to a small number of regular partners (“bubble”) |
475/1086 (44%) |
150/605 (25%) | 325/481 (68%) | < 0.001 | 6.32 [4.48, 9.00] |
| Not having sex |
480/1086 (44%) |
282/605 (47%) | 198/481 (41%) | 0.083 | 0.80 [0.58, 1.10] |
| Avoiding sex if feeling unwell or have symptoms of COVID-19 |
452/1086 (42%) |
168/605 (28%) | 284/481 (59%) | < 0.001 | 3.75 [2.69, 5.25] |
| Limiting partner number (e.g. reducing number of casual partners, avoiding group sex) |
448/1086 (41%) |
144/605 (24%) | 304/481 (63%) | < 0.001 | 5.50 [3.90, 7.80] |
| Limiting sex to a person/people you live with |
312/1086 (29%) |
198/605 (33%) | 114/481 (24%) | 0.001 | 0.64 [0.45, 0.91] |
| Having online or virtual sex |
173/1086 (16%) |
83/605 (14%) | 90/481 (19%) | 0.032 | 1.45 [0.94, 2.23] |
| Washing hands with soap and water before and after sex |
370/1086 (34%) |
133/605 (22%) | 237/481 (49%) | < 0.001 | 3.45 [2.45, 4.88] |
| Precautions during sex (e.g. avoiding kissing or saliva contact/exchange; avoiding rimming; wearing a face mask during sex; avoiding face-to-face contact; washing shared sex toys) |
300/1086 (28%) |
103/605 (17%) | 197/481 (41%) | < 0.001 | 3.38 [2.35, 4.90] |
| Other |
35/1086 (3%) |
26/605 (4%) |
9/481 (2%) |
0.038 | 0.42 [0.14, 1.10] |
| Looked for, or received information about COVID-19 infection during sexual encounters (any) |
760/1189 (64%) |
396/686 (58%) | 364/503 (72%) | < 0.001 | 1.92 [1.39, 2.66] |
| Sources of information: | |||||
| From a public health agency website (e.g. BCCDC website) |
446/760 (59%) |
224/396 (57%) | 222/364 (61%) | 0.245 | 1.20 [0.82, 1.76] |
| By searching online |
422/760 (56%) |
212/396 (54%) | 210/364 (58%) | 0.281 | 1.18 [0.81, 1.73] |
| Through social media |
363/760 (48%) |
198/396 (50%) | 165/364 (45%) | 0.224 | 0.83 [0.57, 1.21] |
| Through news media |
333/760 (44%) |
167/396 (42%) | 166/364 (46%) | 0.379 | 1.15 [0.79, 1.68] |
| Through friends, family, or a relationship or sex partner |
292/760 (38%) |
146/396 (37%) | 146/364 (40%) | 0.399 | 1.15 [0.78, 1.69] |
| From a community-based organization or health care provider |
126/760 (17%) |
55/396 (14%) | 71/364 (20%) | 0.047 | 1.50 [0.91, 2.51] |
| Other |
21/760 (3%) |
13/396 (3%) |
8/364 (2%) |
0.490 | 0.66 [0.19, 2.09] |
*Excluding participants who did not report using any risk reduction strategy
BOLD: 95% confidence interval excludes 1