Sexual behaviour, condom use and HIV risk situations in the general population of Quebec

We conducted 3501 telephone interviews to determine the sexual and protecti ve behaviours of the general population in Quebec. Among the 858 respondent s who had had at least one occasional partner during the last 5 years, 25.4 % had had at least one occasional partner who refused to use a condom. More women had had an occasional partner who had refused than men (29.8% vs 21. 1%, P<0.001) and fewer women than men succeeded in negotiating condom use, but more of these women decided not to have sexual relations. The frequency of condom use during the last sexual relation changes if the partner is a regular cohabiting partner (12.5%), a regular non-co-habiting partner (42.2 %) or an occasional partner (70.8%). Our study provides important informati on for the development of prevention programmes for the heterosexual popula tion and demonstrates the importance of the type of relationship maintained by the partners on the sexual behaviours.