U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

National Health Statistics Reports

Number 110  March 29, 2018

Receipt of a Sexual Risk Assessment From a Doctor or 

Medical Care Provider in the Past Year Among Women 

and Men Aged 15–44 With Recent Sexual Activity 

by Casey E. Copen, M.P.H., Ph.D.

Abstract

Objective—Using 2011–2015 data from the National Survey of Family Growth 

(NSFG), this report examines by selected characteristics the percentage of women and 

men aged 15–44 in the United States with recent sexual activity who received a sexual 

risk assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the past year.

Methods—NSFG data for 2011–2015 were collected through in-person interviews 

with nationally representative samples of women and men aged 15–44 in the U.S. 

household population. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment was measured by four 

items that questioned all women and men about whether a doctor or other medical 

care provider had asked them in the past year about specific aspects of their sexual 

experience. Data were analyzed for 4,659 women and 7,397 men with recent sexual 

activity (i.e., any sexual contact in the past year).

Results—Overall, 47% of women and 23% of men with recent sexual activity 

received a sexual risk assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the 

past year. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment in the past year varied by age, Hispanic 

origin and race, sexual orientation, poverty-level income, and current health insurance 

status. Higher receipt of a sexual risk assessment was observed among persons who 

had two or more opposite-sex partners in the past year and for men who had a male 

sexual partner or any HIV risk-related sexual behaviors in the past year. Although 

NSFG data cannot determine the temporal sequencing of a sexual risk assessment 

and HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, the data indicate that HIV/STI 

testing within the past year was more common among persons who had a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year. 

Keywords: sexual and reproductive health care • sexual behavior • National Survey of 

Family Growth

Introduction

CDC estimates that 20 million new 

sexually transmitted infections (STIs) 

occur in the United States each year 

and nearly one-half of them are among 

those aged 15–24 (1). Health care 

providers’ routine assessment of sexual 

risk behaviors is one strategy to prevent 

and control HIV and other STIs (2). A 

sexual risk assessment involves obtaining 

information from a patient during a health 

care visit about sexual behaviors that 

may increase HIV/STI risk. Such items 

typically include information about the 

patient’s sexual partners, sexual practices, 

strategies used to prevent unintended 

pregnancy and protect against STIs, and 

past history of STIs (3). 

As part of a sexual risk assessment, 

health care providers may ask questions 

about their patient’s recent behaviors 

that may increase their risk of HIV/STIs, 

including number of sexual partners and 

whether they have overlapping sexual 

partnerships. Similarly, a clinician’s 

inquiry about their patient’s sexual 

practices may include questions on 

the types of sexual engagement (e.g., 

whether vaginal, oral, or anal) and 

whether condoms were used. Given that 

levels of risk of HIV/STIs differ based 

on both individual- and population-level 

factors (4–7), answers to these questions 

may inform clinicians about the most 

appropriate risk-reduction interventions. 

CDC’s clinical prevention guidelines 

indicate risk assessment, education, and 

counseling of persons at risk as part of 

a five-pronged strategy to prevent and 

control HIV/STIs (2). Similarly, the 

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and 
Page 2 National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018

other national organizations recommend 

that health care providers periodically 

obtain a sexual risk assessment for all 

sexually active adolescents and for adults 

at increased risk of HIV/STIs (8–10). A 

sexual risk assessment may be delivered 

by the primary care clinician or may be 

offered by community organizations, 

schools, or health departments. Although 

clinical conversations about HIV/STI risk 

factors may mitigate the burden of STIs 

in the United States, studies examining 

STI counseling by physicians have found 

wide variations in practice (11). Factors 

that may influence the receipt of a sexual 

risk assessment include the patient’s 

visit frequency and need to use sexual 

or reproductive health services, and 

concerns about the confidentiality of their 

health information (12–14). Similarly, 

the provider’s specialty, training, lack of 

time, or discomfort in asking about their 

patient’s sexual experiences may impact 

the delivery of sexual risk assessments in 

clinical settings (15). 

Using 2011–2015 data from the 

National Survey of Family Growth 

(NSFG), this report describes the 

prevalence of the receipt of a sexual 

risk assessment among women and men 

aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity 

(i.e., sexual contact with an oppositesex or same-sex partner in the past year) 

by selected social, demographic, and 

behavioral characteristics. In addition, 

this report presents percentages of 

women and men aged 15–44 who were 

tested for HIV or STI in the past year 

according to receipt of a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year.

Methods

Data source

This report is based on 2011–2015 

data from NSFG, which is a nationally 

representative survey of the U.S. 

household population, using face-to-face 

interviews conducted with independent 

samples of women and men aged 15–44. 

Many of the questions used for this 

report, including those on sexual risk 

assessment, were asked using audio 

computer-assisted self-interviewing 

(ACASI). In ACASI, the respondent 

listens to the questions through 

headphones, reads them on the screen, 

or both, and enters the responses directly 

into the computer. Questions on sexual 

risk assessment were asked of all men 

starting in 2011, and of all women 

starting in 2013, resulting in sample 

sizes of 9,321 men and 5,699 women. To 

more closely align the receipt of a sexual 

risk assessment in the past year and 

other behaviors (e.g., number of sexual 

partners) within the same time frame, 

this report is limited to 4,659 women and 

7,397 men aged 15–44 who had any type 

of sexual contact with an opposite-sex 

or same-sex sexual partner in the past 

year. This is referred to as “recent sexual 

activity” throughout the report. Further 

details on the sample design, variance 

estimation, and fieldwork procedures 

were published previously (16). The 

response rates were 71.2% for women 

in 2013–2015 and 69.6% for men in 

2011–2015. NSFG is jointly planned and 

funded by the National Center for Health 

Statistics and several other programs 

of the U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services.

Defining sexual risk 

assessment in NSFG

Starting in 2011, men aged 15–44 

were asked four separate questions in 

ACASI: 

“In the last 12 months, has a doctor 

or other medical care provider asked you 

about...

● Your sexual orientation or the sex of 

your sexual partners?

● Your number of sexual partners?

● Your use of condoms? 

● The types of sex you have, whether 

vaginal, oral, or anal?”

These same four questions were 

asked of women aged 15–44 in ACASI 

starting in 2013. In this report, receipt of 

a sexual risk assessment in the past year 

is based on a “yes” response to one or 

more of these four questions.

Other variables 

The data presented in this report 

are shown with respect to several 

demographic characteristics (i.e., age, 

Hispanic origin and race, and sexual 

orientation) and variables related to 

health care access (i.e., poverty-level 

income, residential location, whether 

one has a usual place for medical care, 

and current health insurance status). 

In addition, this report describes the 

percentages of women and men who 

received a sexual risk assessment by 

behavioral characteristics, including the 

number and sex of their sexual partners 

in the past year and whether they had HIV 

risk-related sexual behaviors in the past 

year. Finally, the percentages of HIV and 

STI testing among women and men aged 

15–44 are shown by whether they received 

a sexual risk assessment in the past year. 

Details on how these variables were coded 

can be found in the Technical Notes. 

Statistical analysis

All estimates presented meet the 

National Center for Health Statistics 

guidelines for presentation of proportions 

(17). All of the estimates and percentages 

in this report are based on sampling 

weights that were designed to produce 

unbiased estimates representative of 

women and men aged 15–44 in the 

United States in 2011–2015. Statistics 

for this report, including sampling errors, 

were produced using the survey analysis 

procedures in SAS software version 9.4. 

Standard two-tailed t tests were used 

to test statistical significance among 

subgroups. A probability level of less 

than 0.05 was considered statistically 

significant. No adjustments were made 

for multiple comparisons. Terms such as 

“greater than” and “less than” indicate 

that a statistically significant difference 

was found. Terms such as “similar” or 

“no difference” indicate that the statistics 

being compared were not significantly 

different. All analyses were stratified 

by sex. Given that data on sexual risk 

assessment are only available for women 

for 2 years (2013–2015), differences in 

the receipt of a sexual risk assessment 

were assessed only within sex and were 

not compared between men and women.

Results 

Table 1 shows the overall 

percentages of women and men aged 

15–44 with recent sexual activity who 

received a sexual risk assessment in the 

past year, and the percentages who were 

asked by a doctor or other medical care 
National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018 Page 3

provider about at least one of four topics: 

a) their sexual orientation or the sex of 

their sexual partners; b) their number of 

sexual partners; c) their (partner’s) use 

of condoms; and d) the types of sex they 

have, whether vaginal, oral, or anal. 

● Among women aged 15–44 with 

recent sexual activity, 47.0% received 

a sexual risk assessment in the past 

year. The percentages of women 

asked by a doctor or other medical 

care provider about their (partner’s) 

use of condoms (35.9%) and their 

number of sexual partners (32.6%) 

were both higher than those asked 

about their sexual orientation or the 

sex of their sexual partners (24.0%) 

or the types of sex they have, whether 

vaginal, oral, or anal (18.4%). 

● Among men aged 15–44 with recent 

sexual activity, 22.7% received 

a sexual risk assessment in the 

past year. The percentage of men 

asked by a doctor or other medical 

care provider about their sexual 

orientation or the sex of their sexual 

partners (14.8%), their number of 

sexual partners (13.3%), and their 

use of condoms (16.6%) were each 

higher than the percentage asked 

about the types of sex they have, 

whether vaginal, oral, or anal (9.2%).

Table 2 presents the percentage 

of women aged 15–44 with recent 

sexual activity who received a sexual 

risk assessment from a doctor or other 

medical care provider in the past year 

by selected social and demographic 

characteristics.

● Approximately 65% of women aged 

15–19 with recent sexual activity 

received a sexual risk assessment in 

the past year, which was similar to 

that for women aged 20–24 (62.6%). 

Both percentages were higher than 

that for women aged 25–44 (41.2%).

● More than one-half of non-Hispanic 

black women aged 15–44 (58.5%) 

received a sexual risk assessment in 

the past year. This percentage was 

similar to that for Hispanic women 

(55.0%), but both non-Hispanic black 

and Hispanic women had higher 

percentages who received a sexual 

risk assessment compared with 

non-Hispanic white women (42.5%).

● No significant differences were 

seen by sexual orientation in 

the percentages of women aged 

15–44 who received a sexual risk 

assessment.

● A higher percentage of women 

aged 20–44 whose incomes were 

below 300% of the federal poverty 

level (49.3%) received a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year compared 

with those whose incomes were 

300% or higher than the federal 

poverty level (39.0%).

● No significant differences in 

the percentages of women aged 

15–44 who received a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year were seen 

by whether they lived in an urban 

or rural area or whether they had a 

usual place to go for medical care. 

● A higher percentage of women aged 

20–44 with public health insurance 

(53.3%) received a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year compared 

with those with private health 

insurance (42.4%) or no health 

insurance (46.4%). 

Table 3 presents the percentage 

of men aged 15–44 with recent sexual 

activity who received a sexual risk 

assessment from a doctor or other 

medical care provider in the past year 

by selected social and demographic 

characteristics.

● Approximately 44% of men aged 

15–19 with recent sexual activity 

received a sexual risk assessment in 

the past year, which was higher than 

the percentage for men aged 20–24 

(31.0%) and those aged

25–44 (18.0%).

● Approximately 40% of non-Hispanic 

black men aged 15–44 received a 

sexual risk assessment in the past 

year, which was higher than the 

percentages for Hispanic (25.9%) 

and non-Hispanic white (18.2%) 

men. 

● A higher percentage of men aged 

15–44 who identified as homosexual 

or gay (46.9%) or as bisexual (38.9%) 

received a sexual risk assessment 

compared with those who identified as 

heterosexual or straight (22.0%). 

● A higher percentage of men aged 

20–44 whose incomes were below 

300% of the federal poverty level 

(22.5%) received a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year compared 

with those whose incomes were 300% 

or higher than the federal poverty 

level (18.0%).

● A higher percentage of men aged 

15–44 living in urban areas (23.9%) 

received a sexual risk assessment in 

the past year compared with those 

living in rural areas (16.2%).

● A higher percentage of men aged 

15–44 who had a usual place to go 

for medical care (25.4%) received 

a sexual risk assessment in the past 

year compared with those who did 

not (16.6%).

● A higher percentage of men aged 

20–44 with public health insurance 

(30.3%) received a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year compared 

with those with private health 

insurance (19.2%) or no health 

insurance (18.3%). 

Table 4 presents the percentages of 

women and men aged 15–44 with recent 

sexual activity who received a sexual 

risk assessment from a doctor or other 

medical care provider in the past year 

by the number and sex of their sexual 

partners in the past year.

● Approximately 58% of women 

aged 15–44 who had two or more 

opposite-sex partners in the past year 

and no same-sex partners received 

a sexual risk assessment in the past 

year. This percentage was higher 

than that for women who had only 

one opposite-sex partner in the past 

year (44.6%).

● More than one-half of women aged 

15–44 who had one or more

same-sex partners in the past year 

(53.1%) received a sexual risk 

assessment in the past year. This 

percentage was not significantly 

different from that for women who 

had two or more opposite-sex sexual 

partners in the past year and no samesex partners (57.9%) or from women 

who had only one opposite-sex sexual 

partner in the past year (44.6%).

● Almost one-half of men who had one 

or more same-sex sexual partners 

in the past year (48.1%) received a 

sexual risk assessment in the past 

year. This percentage was higher 

than that for men who had two or 
Page 4 National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018

more opposite-sex partners in the 

past year and no same-sex partners 

(37.7%), and those who had only one 

opposite-sex sexual partner in the 

past year (17.3%). 

The Figure shows the percentages of 

women and men aged 15–44 who received 

a sexual risk assessment in the past year 

by whether they had any HIV risk-related 

sexual behaviors in the past year. 

● No significant difference was seen

in the percentages of women who

received a sexual risk assessment

in the past year by whether they

had any HIV risk-related sexual

behaviors in the past year.

● Approximately 46% of men aged

15–44 who had any HIV risk-related

sexual behaviors in the past year

received a sexual risk assessment in

the past year, which was higher than

the percentage for men who did not

have any of these behaviors in the

past year (20.3%).

Table 5 presents the percentages 

of HIV and STI testing among women 

and men aged 15–44 with recent sexual 

activity by whether they received a sexual 

risk assessment from a doctor or other 

medical care provider in the past year. 

● Higher percentages of women aged

15–44 who received a sexual risk

assessment in the past year were

tested for HIV or STIs in the past

year (37.7% and 53.4%, respectively)

compared with those who did not

receive a sexual risk assessment in the

past year (17.1% and 19.1%).

● Higher percentages of men aged

15–44 who received a sexual

risk assessment in the past year

were tested for HIV or STIs in

the past year (37.6% and 46.3%,

respectively) compared with those

who did not receive a sexual risk

assessment in the past year (11.5%

and 8.4%).

Discussion

Overall, 47% of women and 23% 

of men aged 15–44 with recent sexual 

activity received a sexual risk assessment 

from a doctor or other medical care 

provider in the past year. Receipt of a 

sexual risk assessment was higher among 

women and men aged 15–24 compared 

with those aged 25–44. Receipt of a 

sexual risk assessment was higher among 

Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women 

and men aged 15–44, and for persons 

aged 20–44, those whose incomes were 

below 300% of the poverty level, and 

those who had public health insurance. 

Among men aged 15–44, receipt of a 

sexual risk assessment was higher among 

those who identified as gay or bisexual 

compared with those who identified as 

straight; those who lived in urban areas 

compared with rural areas; and those who 

had a usual place to go for medical care 

compared with those who did not.

Figure. Percentage of women and men aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity who received a sexual risk assessment by a doctor or other 

medical care provider in the past year, by whether they had any HIV risk-related sexual behaviors in the past year, 2011–2015

 
National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018 Page 5

 In addition to differences in the 

receipt of a sexual risk assessment by 

social and demographic characteristics, 

this report shows variation in receipt 

of a sexual risk assessment by selected 

behavioral characteristics. Receipt of a 

sexual risk assessment was higher among 

women and men aged 15–44 with two 

or more opposite-sex sexual partners in 

the past year compared with those who 

had only one opposite-sex sexual partner 

in the past year. For men aged 15–44, 

higher sexual risk assessment receipt was 

observed for those who had a male sexual 

partner in the past year and those who had 

any HIV risk-related sexual behaviors in 

the past year. Finally, findings from this 

report indicate that among both women 

and men aged 15–44, an association was 

seen between the receipt of a sexual risk 

assessment and testing for HIV and STIs in 

the past year. 

Findings from this report should be 

viewed in light of several data limitations. 

The NSFG survey design is cross-sectional; 

thus, the timing between any sexual 

behaviors and HIV/STI testing in the past 

year and receipt of a sexual risk assessment 

in the past year cannot be determined. 

Second, questions on the receipt of a 

sexual risk assessment are asked in ACASI 

and are separate from questions about 

health service use collected in other parts 

of the NSFG interview. This means that it 

is not possible to discern whether a sexual 

risk assessment and other health services 

were received within the same health 

care visit. Third, because of the relatively 

narrow scope of the wording of these 

questions, it is not known whether any 

type of counseling took place between the 

health care provider and the respondent 

during the health care visit where these 

topics were raised. Lastly, the bivariate 

associations presented in this report may 

be explained by other factors not controlled 

for in the tables or included in this report. 

This report provides descriptive 

statistics of the prevalence of a sexual 

risk assessment among women and men 

aged 15–44 by social, demographic, and 

behavioral characteristics. A sexual risk 

assessment is a primary prevention tool 

that can help identify persons at risk of 

HIV/STI. Findings in this report may help 

inform HIV/STI prevention efforts within 

the health care setting.

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National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018 Page 7

Table 1. Number of women and men aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity and percentage 

who received a sexual risk assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the 

past year: United States, 2011–2015

Characteristic Women Men

Had recent sexual activity Number (thousands)

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,203 50,352

Receipt of a sexual risk assessment Percent (standard error)

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.0 (1.2) 22.7 (0.8)

In the last 12 months, has a doctor or other

medical care provider asked you about...

Your sexual orientation or the sex of your sexual partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.0 (1.0) 14.8 (0.6)

Your number of sexual partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.6 (1.1) 13.3 (0.6)

Your use of condoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.9 (1.2) 16.6 (0.7)

The types of sex you have, whether vaginal, oral, or anal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.4 (0.9) 9.2 (0.5)

NOTES: Recent sexual activity refers to opposite-sex or same-sex sexual contact in the past year, including vaginal, oral, or 

anal sex. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment is based on a “yes” response to one or more of four questions, shown individually 

here, about whether a doctor or other medical care provider asked the respondent in the past year about their sexual experience. 

Estimates for women are available only for 2013–2015.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2011–2015.
Page 8 National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  Month 29, 2018

Table 2. Number of women aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity and percentage who 

received a sexual risk assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the past 

year, by selected characteristics: United States, 2013–2015

Characteristic

Number

(thousands)

Percent

(standard error)

Total1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,203 47.0 (1.2)

Age (years)

15–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,384 65.1 (2.6)

20–24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,999 62.6 (2.7)

25–44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,820 41.2 (1.4)

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,310 55.0 (2.5)

Not Hispanic or Latina: 

White, single race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,753 42.5 (1.5)

Black or African American, single race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,972 58.5 (2.2)

Sexual orientation

Heterosexual or straight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,469 46.6 (1.4)

Homosexual, gay or lesbian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,164 44.3 (6.3)

Bisexual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,322 54.2 (3.4)

Poverty-level income2

0%–299% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,921 49.3 (1.5)

300% or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,897 39.0 (1.0)

Type of residence

Urban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,771 47.8 (1.3)

Rural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,432 42.7 (2.9)

Has a usual place to go for medical care

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,182 47.6 (1.3)

No. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,021 43.7 (2.5)

Current health insurance2

Private health insurance only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,206 42.4 (1.7)

Any public health insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,869 53.3 (1.8)

No health insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,744 46.4 (2.5)

1

Includes women of other or multiple-race groups and those who reported “don’t know” or “refused” on sexual orientation, not shown 

separately. 

2

Limited to women aged 20–44 at the time of interview.

NOTES: Recent sexual activity refers to opposite-sex or same-sex sexual contact in the past year, including vaginal, oral, or anal 

sex. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment is based on a “yes” response to one or more of four questions about whether a doctor or 

other medical care provider asked the respondent in the past year about their sexual experience. See Technical Notes, “Definition of 

Terms,” for more information on how these variables were coded.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2013–2015.
National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018 Page 9

Table 3. Number of men aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity and percentage who 

received a sexual risk assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the

past year, by selected characteristics: United States, 2011–2015

Characteristic

Number

(thousands)

Percent

(standard error)

Total1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,352 22.7 (0.8)

Age (years)

15–19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,090 43.5 (2.3)

20–24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,553 31.0 (2.1)

25–44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,709 18.0 (0.7)

Hispanic origin and race

Hispanic or Latino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,582 25.9 (1.4)

Not Hispanic or Latino: 

White, single race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,649 18.2 (1.0)

Black or African American, single race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,260 40.1 (2.2)

Sexual orientation

Heterosexual or straight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,267 22.0 (0.8)

Homosexual or gay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883 46.9 (4.9)

Bisexual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986 38.9 (5.7)

Poverty-level income2

0%–299% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,578 22.5 (1.0)

300% or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,683 18.0 (1.2)

Type of residence

Urban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,995 23.9 (0.9)

Rural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,356 16.2 (1.6)

Has a usual place to go for medical care

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,242 25.4 (1.0)

No. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,109 16.6 (0.9)

Current health insurance2

Private health insurance only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,553 19.2 (1.0)

Any public health insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,933 30.3 (1.9)

No health insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,775 18.3 (1.3)

1

Includes men of other or multiple-race groups and those who reported “don’t know” or “refused” on sexual orientation, not shown 

separately. 

2

Limited to men aged 20–44 at the time of interview.

NOTES: Recent sexual activity refers to opposite-sex or same-sex sexual contact in the past year, including vaginal, oral, or anal 

sex. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment is based on a “yes” response to one or more of four questions about whether a doctor or 

other medical care provider asked the respondent in the past year about their sexual experience. See Technical Notes, “Definition of 

Terms,” for more information on how these variables were coded. 

SOURCE: NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2011–2015.
Page 10 National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018

Table 4. Number of women and men aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity and percentage 

who received a sexual risk assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the 

past year, by number and sex of sexual partners in the past year: United States, 2011–2015

Characteristic

Number

(thousands)

Percent

(standard error)

Women

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,203 47.0 (1.2)

One opposite-sex partner in the past year,

no same-sex partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,753 44.6 (1.5)

Two or more opposite-sex partners in the past year,

no same-sex partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,330 57.9 (3.1)

One or more same-sex partners in the past year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,120 53.1 (4.1)

Men

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,352 22.7 (0.8)

One opposite-sex partner in the past year,

no same-sex partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,727 17.3 (0.8)

Two or more opposite-sex partners in the past year,

no same-sex partners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,032 37.7 (1.6)

One or more same-sex partners in the past year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,593 48.1 (4.0)

NOTES: Recent sexual activity refers to opposite-sex or same-sex sexual contact in the past year, including vaginal, oral, or anal 

sex. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment is based on a “yes” response to one or more of four questions about whether a doctor or 

other medical care provider asked the respondent in the past year about their sexual experience. See Technical Notes, “Definition 

of Terms,” for more information on how this variable was coded. Estimates for women are available only for 2013–2015.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2011–2015.

Table 5. Number of women and men aged 15–44 with recent sexual activity and percentage 

who were tested for HIV or STI in the past year, by whether they had a sexual risk 

assessment from a doctor or other medical care provider in the past year: United States, 

2011–2015

Characteristic

Number 

(thousands)

Tested for HIV

in past year

Tested for STI

in past year

Women Percent (standard error)

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,203 26.8 (1.2) 35.2 (1.2)

Had sexual risk assessment in the past year: 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,061 37.7 (1.7) 53.4 (1.6)

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,079 17.1 (1.2) 19.1 (1.4)

Men

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,352 17.5 (0.7) 17.0 (0.6)

Had sexual risk assessment in the past year: 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,429 37.6 (1.8) 46.3 (1.5)

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,802 11.5 (0.7) 8.4 (0.4)

NOTES: STI is sexually transmitted infection. Recent sexual activity refers to opposite-sex or same-sex sexual contact in the past 

year, including vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment is based on a “yes” response to one or more of 

four questions about whether a doctor or other medical care provider asked the respondent in the past year about their sexual 

experience. See Technical Notes, “Definition of Terms,” for more information on how these variables were coded. Estimates for 

women are available only for 2013–2015.

SOURCE: NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth, 2011–2015.
National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018 Page 11

Technical Notes

Definition of terms

Age—The recode variable AGER 

indicates the respondent’s age at the time 

of interview. 

Current health insurance status—

The recode variable CURR_INS 

describes health insurance status at 

the time of the interview using four 

mutually exclusive categories, which 

were combined for this report into 

private health insurance only, any public 

health insurance, or no health insurance. 

Private health insurance refers to any 

comprehensive private insurance plan, 

including those obtained through an 

employer, purchased directly, purchased 

through local or community programs, or 

purchased through the Health Insurance 

Marketplace or a state-based exchange. 

Public health insurance refers to 

Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance 

Program (CHIP), state-sponsored or 

other government-sponsored health 

plans, Medicare, and military plans. 

No health insurance includes those 

who did not have any private health 

insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, 

state-sponsored or other governmentsponsored health plan, or military plan 

at the time of interview, or were covered 

only by the Indian Health Service or had 

only a private insurance plan that paid for 

one type of service, such as accidents or 

dental care.

Hispanic origin and race—The 

recode variable HISPRACE categorizes 

Hispanic origin and race in compliance 

with the Office of Management and 

Budget’s 1997 guidelines (18). For this 

report, the categories shown separately 

are Hispanic; non-Hispanic white, single 

race; and non-Hispanic black, single race. 

Women and men of other or multiple 

races were included in overall estimates 

but were not shown separately due to the 

heterogeneity of this group.

HIV risk-related sexual behavior 

in the past year—A summary measure 

based on questions in audio computerassisted self-interviewing (ACASI) that 

includes those who had five or more 

opposite-sex sexual partners; had sex in 

exchange for money or drugs; had a sex 

partner who injects illegal drugs; had an 

HIV-positive sex partner; males who had 

any male sexual partners; and females 

who had sex with male partners who 

had sex with other males. Further details 

on these measures can be found in a 

previous report (19).

HIV test in the past year—Shown 

exclusive of any donations of blood or 

blood products. Females who reported 

HIV testing during their most recent 

completed pregnancy within the last 

12 months are included as having been 

tested for HIV in the past year.

Number and sex of sexual partners 

in the past year—Respondents reported 

the number of opposite-sex and same-sex 

sexual partners in the past year in ACASI, 

and this information was collapsed 

into mutually exclusive categories that 

include: “one opposite-sex partner in 

the past year and no same-sex partners,” 

“two or more opposite-sex partners in the 

past year and no same-sex partners,” and 

“one or more same-sex partners.” The 

number of persons reporting exclusively 

same-sex partners in the past year was 

too small to show separately.

Poverty-level income—The recode 

variable POVERTY gives the household’s 

income expressed as a percentage 

of the poverty-level threshold for a 

household of that size. The respondent 

reported their total family income for 

the previous calendar year in ACASI. 

The respondent’s reported income, in 

conjunction with the number of persons 

living in the household, is compared with 

the annual weighted poverty threshold 

table for families of the same size as 

published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Recent sexual activity—Refers to 

all types of sexual activity as reported in 

ACASI, including vaginal intercourse, 

oral sex, and anal sex, either with 

opposite-sex or same-sex partners in the 

past year.

Sexual orientation—Women and 

men were asked in ACASI, “Do you 

think of yourself as... 1) heterosexual or 

straight; 2) homosexual, gay (or lesbian); 

or 3) bisexual?” Respondents chose 

one of the response categories provided 

or chose “don’t know” or “refused,” 

as is allowed on any question in the 

survey. Those who chose “don’t know” 

or “refused” were included in overall 

estimates but were not shown separately 

due to small sample sizes.

STI testing—Women were asked 

in ACASI whether they were tested for 

chlamydia in the past year and a separate 

question on whether they were “tested 

for any other sexually transmitted disease 

like gonorrhea, herpes, or syphilis.” 

Men were asked in ACASI a question on 

whether they were “tested by a doctor or 

other medical care provider in the past 

year for a sexually transmitted disease 

like gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, or 

syphilis.” 

Type of residence—The recode 

variable METRO categorized the 

respondent’s place of residence at the 

time of interview, which was identified 

as a principal city of a metropolitan 

statistical area (MSA), other MSA, or 

not MSA. Principal city of MSA and 

other MSA were classified as urban 

residence; not MSA was classified as 

rural residence. The respondent’s address 

was classified according to 2010 census 

population counts using the Office of 

Management and Budget definitions 

released in December 2009 (20). 

Usual source of care—All 

respondents were asked the question, “Is 

there a place that you usually go to when 

you are sick or need advice about health?”
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National Health Statistics Reports  Number 110  March 29, 2018

Suggested citation

Copen CE. Receipt of a sexual risk assessment 

from a doctor or medical care provider in the 

past year among women and men aged 15–44 

with recent sexual activity. National Health 

Statistics Reports; no 110. Hyattsville, MD: 

National Center for Health Statistics. 2018.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in 

the public domain and may be reproduced 

or copied without permission; citation as to 

source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health Statistics

Charles J. Rothwell, M.S., M.B.A., Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate Director 

for Science

Division of Vital Statistics

Delton Atkinson, M.P.H., M.P.H., P.M.P.,

Director

Hanyu Ni, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Director

for Science

Acknowledgments 

The 2011–2015 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) with the support 

and assistance of a number of other organizations and individuals. Interviewing and other tasks were carried out by the University of Michigan’s 

Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, under a contract with NCHS. The 2011–2015 NSFG was jointly planned and funded by the 

following programs and agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 

z National Institute for Child Health and Human z Division of Reproductive Health (CDC)

 Development/Population Dynamics Branch z Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (CDC)

z Office of Population Affairs z Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

z National Center for Health Statistics (CDC) (CDC)

z Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (CDC) z Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

z Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention (CDC) z	Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and 

 Families 

NCHS gratefully acknowledges the contributions of these programs and agencies, and all others who assisted in designing and carrying out the 

2011–2015 NSFG. 

This report was prepared in the NCHS Division of Vital Statistics (DVS) under the general direction of Delton Atkinson, Director of DVS; Paul Sutton, 

Acting Chief, Reproductive Statistics Branch (RSB); and Anjani Chandra, Team Lead, RSB NSFG Team. The author is grateful for the valuable 

comments provided by Hanyu Ni, DVS Associate Director for Science, and Amy M. Branum, NCHS Deputy Associate Director for Science.