STI and HIV knowledge and testing: a comparison of domestic Australian-born, domestic overseas-born and international university students in Australia
Teyl Engstrom
A H , Michael Waller A , Amy B. Mullens B , Jo Durham C , Joseph Debattista D , Kathryn Wenham E , Sara F. E. Bell A , Armin Ariana F , Zhihong Gu G , Kirstie Daken B , Kaeleen Dingle C , Charles F. Gilks A , Owain D. Williams A and Judith A. Dean A
A School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland,Herston Campus, 288 Herston Road, Herston, Qld 4006, Australia.
B School of Psychology and Counselling, Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich Campus, 11 Salisbury Road, Ipswich, Qld 4305, Australia.
C School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove Campus, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
D Metro North Public Health Unit, Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Bryden Street, Windsor, Qld 4030, Australia.
E School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, Qld 4556, Australia.
F School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Parklands Drive, Southport, Qld 4222, Australia.
G Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, 253 Boundary Street, West End, Qld 4101, Australia.
H Corresponding author. Email: t.engstrom@uq.edu.au
Sexual Health 18(4) 346-348 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH21055
Submitted: 15 March 2021 Accepted: 21 June 2021 Published: 20 August 2021
Abstract
University students usually consist of young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and a group recognised as being at increased risk of STI. This study found lower levels of STI knowledge and STI testing among international students and to a lesser extent, domestic overseas-born students, compared with domestic Australian-born students. International students exhibited lower risk sexual behaviour but were more likely to have had a HIV test than domestic students. This diversity in sexual health knowledge, sexual health services utilisation and sexual experience indicates the need for a variety of public health approaches to improve sexual health.
Keywords: Australia, higher education, HIV, international students, knowledge, sexually transmissible infections (STI), testing.
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