The 5 P’s: Partners, Prevention of Pregnancy, Protection From STDs, Practices, and Past History of STDs
| 1. Partners |
| • “Do you have sex with men, women, or both?” |
| • “In the past 2 months, how many partners have you had sex with?” |
| • “In the past 12 months, how many partners have you had sex with?” |
| • “Is it possible that any of your sex partners in the past 12 months had sex with someone else while they were still in a sexual relationship with you?” |
| 2. Prevention of pregnancy |
| • “What are you doing to prevent pregnancy?” |
| 3. Protection from STDs |
| • “What do you do to protect yourself from STDs and HIV?” |
| 4. Practices |
| • “To understand your risks for STDs, I need to understand the kind of sex you have had recently.” |
| • “Have you had vaginal sex, meaning ‘penis in vagina sex’?” If yes, “do you use condoms: never, sometimes, or always?” |
| • “Have you had anal sex, meaning ‘penis in rectum/anus sex’?” If yes, “do you use condoms: never, sometimes, or always?” |
| • “Have you had oral sex, meaning ‘mouth on penis/vagina’?” |
| For condom answers |
| • If “never:” “why don’t you use condoms?” |
| • If “sometimes:” “in what situations (or with whom) do you not use condoms?” |
| 5. Past history of STDs |
| • “Have you ever had an STD?” |
| • “Have any of your partners had an STD?” |
| Additional questions to identify HIV and viral hepatitis risk include |
| • “Have you or any of your partners ever injected drugs?” |
| • “Have any of your partners exchanged money or drugs for sex?” |
| • “Is there anything else about your sexual practices that I need to know about?” |
| 1. Partners |
| • “Do you have sex with men, women, or both?” |
| • “In the past 2 months, how many partners have you had sex with?” |
| • “In the past 12 months, how many partners have you had sex with?” |
| • “Is it possible that any of your sex partners in the past 12 months had sex with someone else while they were still in a sexual relationship with you?” |
| 2. Prevention of pregnancy |
| • “What are you doing to prevent pregnancy?” |
| 3. Protection from STDs |
| • “What do you do to protect yourself from STDs and HIV?” |
| 4. Practices |
| • “To understand your risks for STDs, I need to understand the kind of sex you have had recently.” |
| • “Have you had vaginal sex, meaning ‘penis in vagina sex’?” If yes, “do you use condoms: never, sometimes, or always?” |
| • “Have you had anal sex, meaning ‘penis in rectum/anus sex’?” If yes, “do you use condoms: never, sometimes, or always?” |
| • “Have you had oral sex, meaning ‘mouth on penis/vagina’?” |
| For condom answers |
| • If “never:” “why don’t you use condoms?” |
| • If “sometimes:” “in what situations (or with whom) do you not use condoms?” |
| 5. Past history of STDs |
| • “Have you ever had an STD?” |
| • “Have any of your partners had an STD?” |
| Additional questions to identify HIV and viral hepatitis risk include |
| • “Have you or any of your partners ever injected drugs?” |
| • “Have any of your partners exchanged money or drugs for sex?” |
| • “Is there anything else about your sexual practices that I need to know about?” |
Adapted from Workowski KA, Bolan GA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2015. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2015;64(RR-03):1–137.