Sexual History Taking in Clinical Settings: A Narrative Review.

OBJECTIVES To explore gaps between CDC's clinical guidelines for obtaining a sexual history and regular clinical practice. We examine how patient, provider and setting characteristics may influence the likelihood of obtaining comprehensive sexual histories and examine patient outcomes linked to sexual history taking. METHODS We performed a narrative review to identify studies that examined clinical practice and sexual history taking via eight databases. A two-level inclusion protocol was followed, wherein the abstract and full text of the article were reviewed, respectively. Data was abstracted using a standardized tool developed for this study. RESULTS The search yielded 2,700 unique studies, of which 2,193 were excluded in level one and 497 were excluded in level 2, leaving ten studies for data abstraction. None of the studies reported comprehensive sexual history taking, and eight studies reported differences in how providers obtain a sexual history when patient and provider demographics are considered. Three studies found a positive link between providers who discuss sexual history and provider STD testing. CONCLUSIONS When sexual histories are obtained, they are not comprehensive, and providers may discuss sexual history differentially based on patients' demographic characteristics. Providers who discuss patients' sexual history may be more likely to also provide sexual health preventive care.