Interactive multimedia sexual risk assessment: using a video doctor to screen patients.

Sexual risk assessment is a vital component of early detection of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We developed the Interactive Multimedia Sexual Risk Assessment, which uses a "video doctor" to question patients about risk-associated sexual behavior, and administered it to a convenience sample of 393 people. Their acceptance of the technology was evaluated, and their risk of contracting an STD was identified according to both liberal and conservative criteria. Most respondents (99%) reported that they had answered the questions truthfully, 74% reported that they had felt comfortable answering the questions, and 79% stated that they would return to the physician portrayed in the video. Fifty-nine percent were at risk for an STD according to the liberal definition, compared with 8% according to the conservative definition.