Does resource development increase community sexually transmitted infections? An environmental scan

Abstract

Resource development (RD) projects such as oil and gas projects, pipelines, and mining have often been associated with increases in rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in catchment communities. This has been attributed largely to the influx of mobile workforces of hundreds to thousands of temporary workers, often young, male, and single. These workers have gained the reputation, particularly within media and anecdotally, of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, that leads to increases in STIs. The original intent of this project was to conduct a systematic literature review that would support the quantification of the change in community STI rates that have been observed in relation to different phases of RD projects. However, a thorough search found surprisingly few published articles that provide sufficient detail to reliably examine the association between RD projects and community STI prevalence. Researchers, government, industry, and organizations are urged to publish relevant research, so that the impact of RD on community STIs can be confirmed and quantified (or disproven). Such research is critical to understand the extent of the impact of RD of community health, and how adverse affects can be mitigated.