Costa Rica’s Health Ministry is preparing to release the results of its National Survey of Sexuality at a press conference scheduled for March 24. The survey was conducted from June 2010 to October 2010 and was applied to women and men between the ages of 15 and 80, from all sexual backgrounds.
Health Vice Minister Ana Morice said that the survey produced many results and is the first time that men’s reproductive health has been taken into account.
“There are a lot of results because it’s a very wide survey that covers groups from 15 to 80 years,” she said. “We have information about older adults, and we also have information about men. It’s the first time that we’ve done a survey about the reproductive health of men. All of the previous surveys have been on women.”
The daily La Nación recently cited the survey and reported that less than 40 percent of Costa Ricans use condoms during sex.
Morice said that in addition to condom use, the survey also looked into a variety of other topics related to sexuality.
“There’s information about sexual abuse, people who have been raped, the topic of sexual diversity, the use of planning methods, reproductive health practices and knowledge in the population,” she said.
Morice said that after presenting the results at the upcoming press conference, the Health Ministry will participate in an in-depth analysis with technical groups and institutions about the actions they will take as a result of the survey. She said that the survey will also help bolster some programs that the Health Ministry already has begun.
“There’s really extensive information and we feel that there are many things to do, but fortunately we’re already implementing some actions that the survey will allow us to strengthen,” she said.
Additionally, the Health Ministry is going to present another report, and devise a plan for sexual education aimed at the country’s youth.
“One week later, we’re going to present the National Politics of Sexuality, which the results have also helped us to formulate, and then a plan with concrete actions directed at the adolescent population, which is where we’re also interested in taking action because we know that’s when people start becoming sexually active,” she said.
