Responses to survey questions on number of sexual partners during the specified reference period.

Data Source(s):

Surveys of program participants or adolescents in the program‘s intended population

Purpose:

Having multiple sexual partners increases the risk of transmission of STIs and HIV/AIDS. This indicator provides a measure of how prevalent this high-risk be­havior is in a program‘s intended population.  However, because consistent condom use greatly reduces the risk of STI transmission, evaluators must consider the indi­cator in conjunction with the indicators pertaining to condom use (Percent of sexually active young people who used a condom at first/last sex, Percent of sexually active, unmarried adolescents who con­sistently use condoms) in order to assess the prevalence of high-risk behaviors.

Issue(s):

Because the indicator deals with a sensitive topic, there is reason to be concerned about the accuracy of reported information. Unfortunately, little methodological re­search has been undertaken to assess how accurately numbers of partners are reported in different settings.