Dr. Maria Gallo, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, Ohio State University
Applying semen biomarkers to HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention research
Research on interventions to prevent pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is heavily influenced by participant reporting of sexual behavior, despite uncertainty about its validity. Exclusive reliance on participant self-report often is based, overtly or by implication, on four assumptions: 1) no feasible alternatives exist; 2) misreporting can be minimized to levels that can be disregarded; 3) misreporting tends to underreport sensitive behaviors; and 4) misreporting tends to be nondifferential with respect to the groups being compared. I will discuss these assumptions, give examples of studies that have applied biological markers of semen exposure detectable in women to strengthen their methodology, briefly review limitations of semen biomarkers, and offer ideas for areas of future research.
