Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Sex Transm Infect. 2021 Aug;97(5):357-362. doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2020-054688. Epub 2020 Nov 17.
Australia recorded its first case of COVID-19 in late January 2020. On 22P March 2020, amid increasing daily case numbers, the Australian Government implemented lockdown restrictions to help 'flatten the curve'. Our study aimed to understand the impact of lockdown restrictions on sexual and reproductive health. Here we focus on sexual practices.
An online survey was open from the 23PP April 2020 to 11P May 2020. Participants were recruited online via social media and other networks and were asked to report on their sexual practices in 2019 and during lockdown. Logistic regression was used to calculate the difference (diff) (including 95% CIs) in the proportion of sex practices between time periods.
Of the 1187 who commenced the survey, 965 (81.3%) completed it. Overall, 70% were female and 66.3% were aged 18-29 years. Most (53.5%) reported less sex during lockdown than in 2019. Compared with 2019, participants were more likely to report sex with a spouse (35.3% vs 41.7%; diff=6.4%; 95% CI 3.6 to 9.2) and less likely to report sex with a girl/boyfriend (45.1% vs 41.8%; diff=-3.3%; 95% CI -7.0 to -0.4) or with casual hook-up (31.4% vs 7.8%; 95% CI -26.9 to -19.8). Solo sex activities increased; 14.6% (123/840) reported using sex toys more often and 26.0% (218/838) reported masturbating more often. Dating app use decreased during lockdown compared with 2019 (42.1% vs 27.3%; diff= -14.8%; 95% CI -17.6 to -11.9). Using dating apps for chatting/texting (89.8% vs 94.5%; diff=4.7%; 95% CI 1.0 to 8.5) and for setting up virtual dates (2.6% vs 17.2%; diff=14.6%; 95% CI 10.1 to 19.2) increased during lockdown.
Although significant declines in sexual activity during lockdown were reported, people did not completely stop engaging in sexual activities, highlighting the importance of ensuring availability of normal sexual and reproductive health services during global emergencies.
澳大利亚于 2020 年 1 月下旬记录到首例 COVID-19 病例。2020 年 3 月 22 日，随着每日新增病例数的增加，澳大利亚政府实施了封锁限制措施，以帮助“拉平曲线”。我们的研究旨在了解封锁限制对性健康和生殖健康的影响。在这里，我们重点关注性行为。
2020 年 4 月 23 日至 5 月 11 日期间，我们进行了一项在线调查。参与者通过社交媒体和其他网络在线招募，并被要求报告他们在 2019 年和封锁期间的性行为。使用逻辑回归计算两个时间段之间性行为比例的差异（diff）（包括 95%置信区间）。
在开始调查的 1187 人中，有 965 人（81.3%）完成了调查。总体而言，70%为女性，66.3%年龄在 18-29 岁之间。与 2019 年相比，大多数人（53.5%）报告在封锁期间的性行为较少。与 2019 年相比，参与者报告与配偶发生性行为的可能性更高（35.3%比 41.7%；差异=6.4%；95%置信区间 3.6 至 9.2），与男女朋友发生性行为的可能性更低（45.1%比 41.8%；差异=-3.3%；95%置信区间-7.0 至-0.4）或与偶然的性伴侣发生性行为的可能性更低（31.4%比 7.8%；95%置信区间-26.9 至-19.8）。自慰活动增加；14.6%（123/840）报告更频繁地使用性玩具，26.0%（218/838）报告更频繁地自慰。与 2019 年相比，封锁期间约会应用程序的使用减少（42.1%比 27.3%；差异=-14.8%；95%置信区间-17.6 至-11.9）。封锁期间，约会应用程序的使用方式发生了变化，用于聊天/发短信（89.8%比 94.5%；差异=4.7%；95%置信区间 1.0 至 8.5）和安排虚拟约会（2.6%比 17.2%；差异=14.6%；95%置信区间 10.1 至 19.2）有所增加。
尽管报告称封锁期间性行为显著减少，但人们并没有完全停止性行为，这突显了在全球紧急情况下确保提供正常的性健康和生殖健康服务的重要性。
