Are general practitioners good at taking a sexual history?
OBJECTIVES: We assessed the frequency and thoroughness of sexual history taking in a population of recently graduated general practitioners. The relative importance of various problems associated with sexual history taking in their medical practice was also evaluated. METHODS: All general practitioners who have graduated from Quebec family medicine programs in 1991 were surveyed (N = 195). Physicians’ practices and attitudes with regard to sexual history taking were measured with a 43-item instrument pretested for its validity and reliability. RESULTS: The sexual history is not yet an integral part of the general medical history. When it is done, not enough information is sought to allow physicians to assess the risk of HIV infection in their patient population. Physicians report many difficulties associated with sexual history taking, some being patient-related, others physician-related. CONCLUSIONS: There is still much that needs to be done to foster HIV prevention in primary care. T
