ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9211-1813
Current Organisations
Macquarie University
,
UNSW Sydney
,
ECA College of Health Sciences, Sydney, Australia
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-02-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12889-021-10445-0
Abstract: Sexual norms, real or perceived, shape young people’s sexual behaviour and may constitute one of the greatest challenges in HIV/STIs prevention among this population. This study used sexual script theory to explore how international students in Sydney, Australia – from traditional cultures of East Asian and sub-Saharan African countries – construct home backgrounds and Australian sexual norms and how this may shape their sexual practices during their studies in Australia. The study involved face-to-face and telephone semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were provided by 20 international students who are enrolled in various universities in Sydney. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded into NVivo and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Identified patterns in the data showed three themes through which participants perceive sexual norms in Australia as distinctly different from their home country norms. First, participants stated that unlike their home country norms, sexual norms in Australia are permissive. Second, participants hold the view that compared to their home country norms, sex in Australia is largely casual as it is not always attached to love. Some participants revealed that this could shape their own sexual practices during their studies in Australia. Finally, participants noted that compared to their home countries’ norm of sex talk taboo, Australia has an open sexual communication norm which they believe, enables young people in western societies to easily acquire sexual health information. Findings provide evidence to support a need for contextualized and effective sexual health services for international students that take account of perceptions around sexual norms and how they can be modified to ensure that sexual practices which these students may engage in, will be managed in a safe and responsible manner.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 16-11-2021
DOI: 10.1071/SH21101
Abstract: Background The ‘Down to Test (DTT)’ c aign is a sexually transmissible infection (STI) social marketing intervention delivered through outdoor music festival activations and supported by digital media communications in New South Wales, Australia. This paper investigates whether and how the tailored messages reached the intended audience. Methods Data was collected through three annual rounds of online surveys post c aign exposure, targeting young people (aged 15–29 years) attending 14 music festivals in NSW from October 2017 to March 2020. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and multivariable logic regression were applied to identify the key client segment and factors associated with a strong intention for future STI screening. Results Of the 10 044 participants with a valid urine specimen submitted, 261 (2.8%) tested positive for chlamydia. Altogether, 1776 participants (median age = 22) self-completed the evaluation surveys online with more being female (73.4%) than male (26.2%). Participants were mostly Australian-born (89.5%), heterosexual (82.6%) and the majority being sexually active (96.7%). Rates of self-reported lifetime STI testing (70.4%) and intention for future STI screening (‘definitely yes’ in the next 12 months, 39.0%) were also high. The most significant factor associated with future intention for STI testing is the Sexual Experience and Perception Factor (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.02 95%CI 1.76–2.32 P 0.001), followed by the Sexual Beliefs and Attitudes Factor (AOR = 1.14 95% CI 1.01–1.30 P 0.05). Conclusions The NSW state-wide DTT c aign has largely reached sexually active youth who are attentive to sexual health promotion messages and contributed to enhanced STI screening in a fun and peer-supportive environment.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-01-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S13690-021-00777-Z
Abstract: Incidence and prevalence of blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections among young people continue to necessitate population-based studies to understand how contextualised sexual health services can be developed and implemented to promote protective behaviours such as consistent condom use. This study examined condomless sexual practice among a s le of East Asian and sub-Saharan African international university students in Sydney, Australia. This qualitative study was methodologically guided by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Data was provided by 20 international students s led from five universities in Sydney, who participated in either face-to-face or telephone semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interview sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded in NVivo and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Condomless sexual practices appear to be common among the study group based on participants’ self-reports of their own practices and the practices of friends and peers. Three themes contextualising condomless among the study participants were generated from the interview transcripts: (1) unanticipated sex, condom related stigma and alcohol use (2) pleasure-seeking, curiosity and intimacy (3) condomless sex as a gendered practice. The result of this study has implications for public health research, practice and policy around design, implementation and evaluation of multi-layered and population-specific sexual health services that are tailored to addressing the needs of international students, who migrate from traditional sexual cultures to Australia, where sexual norms are more liberal.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-11-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12889-022-14512-Y
Abstract: A number of previous sex-related studies among international students in Australia and other Western societies may be limited by conflating students from conservative and non-conservative sexual backgrounds. Such conflation leads to situations where nuances and complexities around sex-related experiences are lost or, at most, tangentially investigated. To address this research problem, this study used a mixed-methods design to examine protective practices against blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections (BBVs/STIs) among Sydney-based East Asian and sub-Saharan African international students. This mixed-methods study generated quantitative data using anonymous online survey (n = 149), and qualitative data through in-depth interviews (n = 20). The main recruitment strategy involved advertising the study through paper and electronic flyers. Quantitative data were analysed using logistic regression, while interviews data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Self-reported BBVs/STIs protective practices in the last 12 months include abstinence (28.7%), consistent condom use (19.9%), occasional condom use (18.7%), single partner fidelity (25.1%), other strategies (1.8%), and nothing (5.8%). Further, findings from the bivariate analysis showed higher BBVs/STIs prevention knowledge, lower acculturation into Australian sexual culture, greater access to sexual health information, less conservative sexual norms, greater emotional social support and older age were significantly associated with increased protective practices. Variables significant at bivariate level were entered into a logistic regression. The model was statistically significant, (X Based on the results of this study, tailored sexual health interventions for international students which incorporate strategies for modifying perceived sexual norms in Australia, are advocated. In addition, this study recommends sexual health interventions that promote dual protection of condoms for both contraception and BBVs/STIs.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-07-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 22-03-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1465507/V1
Abstract: Background This study explored how the COVID-19 pandemic may be shaping BBV/STI risk and protective practices among international students. Methods This qualitative study interviewed 16 international university students in Sydney. Generated data were processed using NVivo and analysis was guided by reflexive thematic analysis. Results Participants experienced elevated mental health distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic and some reported engaging in casual sexual hook-ups as a strategy to seek relief from the mental health distress they experienced. Some of those sexual hook-ups were condomless partly because COVID-related disruptions impacted condom accessibility during lockdowns. Also, the preventive practices of some participants who reported being sexually active during the lockdowns were focused on preventing COVID-19 while BBV/STI got lesser attention. Conclusion This study indicates a need for comprehensive public health response to the near-endemic COVID-19 situation, that focuses on preventing the spread of COVID-19 and the sexual spread of BBVs and infections.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-11-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12978-022-01505-8
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated pre-existing challenges associated with adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Evolving evidence suggest that it could adversely impact the progress made towards improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes among young people. The pandemic has stalled achievements in reducing adolescent pregnancy and child marriage by reinforcing contextual and structural determinants of these reproductive health outcomes, especially among girls. The pandemic has increased disruptions to schooling, decreased access to sexual and reproductive health services and compounded pre-existing socio-economic vulnerabilities. The consequences of neglecting adolescent sexual and reproductive health services over the past 2 years, to focus on COVID-19, continue to emerge. This commentary argues for targeted and responsive approaches to adolescent SRHR that tackle preventable consequences resulting from inequities faced by adolescents globally, particularly girls.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-05-2022
Abstract: Background: While a large body of evidence indicates changes in alcohol and other drug use among young people as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lack of evidence around changes in sexual practices and how the pandemic may be impacting the potential spread of blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections (BBVs/STIs). Most of what we know about sex during COVID-19 lockdowns is largely based on solitary sexual practices, which may not answer the critical question around how the pandemic may be shaping sexual practices among young people. Against this backdrop, this study explored how the COVID-19 pandemic may be shaping BBVs/STIs risk and protective practices among a s le of onshore African and Asian international students in Sydney, Australia. Methods: This phenomenological qualitative study involved semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews with 16 international university students in Sydney, between September 2020–March 2021. Generated data were coded using NVivo and analysis was guided by reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Participants reported elevated mental health distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some participants reported engaging in casual sexual hook-ups as a strategy to mitigate the mental health distress they were experiencing. Some of these sexual hook-ups were condomless partly because COVID-related disruptions impacted condom accessibility. Additionally, the preventive practices of some participants who were sexually active during the lockdowns were focused on preventing COVID-19, while the risk of BBVs/STIs were downplayed. Conclusions: This study indicates a need for a comprehensive public health response to the evolving and near-endemic COVID-19 situation. Such a comprehensive approach should focus on empowering young people to prevent both SARS-CoV-2 and BBVs/STIs.
Location: Australia
No related grants have been discovered for Sylvester Reuben Okeke, PhD.