Asking Questions

• Is it OK for me to ask about your sexual history today?​
• In asking about your sex life, I need to know specific information about what you do during sex. How would you like for me to discuss this with you?​
• What words should I use to refer to your anatomy or specific things you do sexually? Are there words I should try to avoid?

• Are you currently having sex of any kind–oral, vaginal, or anal–with anyone? ​If no, have you ever had sex of any kind with another person? ​
• In recent months, how many sex partners have you had? ​
• What is/are the gender(s) of your sex partner(s)?
• Do you or your partner(s) currently have other sex partners?

• I need to ask some more specific questions about the kinds of sex you have had over the last 12 months to better understand if you are at risk for STIs. We have different tests that are used for the different body parts people use to have sex. Would that be OK? ​​
• What kind of sexual contact do you have or have you had? What parts of your body are involved when you have sex? ​​
  1. Do you have genital sex (penis in the vagina)? ​
  2. Anal sex (penis in the anus)?
  3. Oral sex (mouth on penis, vagina, or anus)? ​
  4. Are you a top and/or bottom?​
  5. Have you or any of your partners used drugs? ​
  6. Have you exchanged sex for your needs (money, housing, drugs, etc)?

• Are you able to enjoy your sex life?​​
• Do you experience any pain during sex or intimacy?​​
• Is orgasm important to your sex life? Are you able to experience orgasm, either alone or during partnered sex?

• Do you and your partner(s) discuss STI prevention? ​
• If you use prevention tools, what methods do you use? ​
• How often do you use this/these method(s)?​
  1. More prompting could include specifics about: frequencies (eg, sometimes, almost all the time, all the time); times they do not use a method​
  2. If “sometimes,” in which situations, or with whom, do you use each method? ​
• Have you received HPV, hepatitis A, and/or hepatitis B shots? ​
• Are you aware of PrEP, a medicine that can reduce the risk of HIV acquisition through sex? Have you ever used it or considered using it?

• Have you ever been tested for STIs and HIV? Would you like to be tested? ​
• Have you been diagnosed with an STI in the past? When? Did you get treatment?
• Have you had any symptoms that keep coming back? ​
• Has your current partner or any former partners ever been diagnosed or treated for an STI? Were you tested for the same STI(s)? Do you know the HIV status of your partner(s)?

• Do you think you would like to have (more) children at some point? ​
• When do you think that might be? ​
• How important is it to you to prevent pregnancy (until then)? ​
• Are you or your partner using contraception or practicing any form of birth control? Would you like to talk about ways to prevent pregnancy? Do you need any information on birth control?

In the past year, did a current or former partner:​

• Make you feel cut off from others, trapped, or controlled in a way that you did not like?​
• Make you feel afraid that they might try to hurt you in some way?​
• Pressure or force you to do something sexual that you did not want to do?​
• Hit, kick, punch, slap, shove, or otherwise physically hurt you?