William A Fisher

• Western University

Although content differences in pornography play an acknowledged role in many theories concerning the use and consequences of such material, relatively few studies have attempted to describe and understand the use of different types of pornography. To begin to address this gap, N = 367 participants who were in predominately mixed-sex relationships...

Background In many countries, sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) continue to be screened based on their sex or gender and the sex or gender of their sexual partner. However, there is growing support that screening based on specific sexual behaviors that pose risk of transfusion transmissible infection is a bet...

The current study aimed to extend existing research concerning HPV vaccination rates, sexual behaviour practices, and risk of HPV-related morbidity and mortality among Canadian university students. A survey research firm recruited an online sample of Canadian university students between 18 and 24 years of age and from across Canada for a study of s...

The current study aimed to extend existing research concerning HPV vaccination rates, sexual behaviour practices, and risk of HPV-related morbidity and mortality among Canadian university students. A survey research firm recruited an online sample of Canadian university students between 18 and 24 years of age and from across Canada, for a study of...

This research tested Confluence Model reasoning that pornography use should be related to sexual aggression among men who are high but not low in the predisposing risk factors of hostile masculinity (HM) and impersonal sexuality (IS). This hypothesis was examined with three online surveys of young adult males, including an American Mechanical Turk...

Background: Blood operators screen donors to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs). Many are evolving screening procedures from those that defer all who have had a sexual interaction with gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) to an approach that assesses individual donors' recent sexual risk behavior with...

This study evaluated the impact of a continuing medical education (CME) program that emphasized actionable information, motivation to act, and skills to strengthen physician recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination in children 6 through 23 months of age for whom influenza immunization rates are suboptimal. Physicians were randomly assigne...

Adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) provides enhanced protection against seasonal influenza in children compared with nonadjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). This prospective cohort study assessed parental attitudes, beliefs, and intentions to vaccinate their infants aged 6–23 months with aTIV. Parents were surveyed before and af...

This prospective cohort survey evaluated the concordance of clinicians’ perceptions of parental intentions and parents’ actual intentions to vaccinate their infants against influenza. During a routine healthy baby visit, clinicians provided parents with information about influenza, children’s vulnerability to influenza, and nonadjuvanted and adjuva...

The adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) provides enhanced protection against influenza for infants but is not publicly funded (NPF). The objective of this prospective cohort study of parents with children 6 through 23 months of age was to understand how NPF status influences parental perceptions of approved but unfunded vaccines and their...

Background: Canadian Blood Services (CBS) screens donors based on group status (e.g., men who have sex with men, MSM) instead of specific, high-risk sexual practices (e.g., occurrence of condomless sex). The MSM screening question is embedded in a cluster of questions about stigmatized attributes such as history of imprisonment and illicit substan...

Background Blood operators are working to improve donor screening and eligibility for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM), and trans and nonbinary donors. Many consider screening all donors for specific sexual risk behaviors to be a more equitable approach that maintains the safety of the blood supply. Feasibility consideratio...

Objective: Since women tend to use pornography less, they may enroll less in studies concerning it and/or those who do may be gender-atypical. Methods: One study plus replication, assessed proportion of participants reporting being women, responding to each of two, minimally different (one including the word “pornographic”) study advertisement vers...

It is commonly assumed that exposure to pornography harms relationships because pornography changes the way that individuals think, feel, and behave in problematic ways. In the current research, we contribute to a small but growing body of work that challenges this assumption by carefully scrutinizing the relational context of pornography use. In c...

Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common, consequential, and clinically neglected sexual problem. The current research is designed to study the experience of communication about ED among men with ED, partners of men with ED, and physicians who treat ED. Methods: Qualitative research with 10 men with ED, 10 female partners of men with ED, a...

Objective: To provide guidance on culturally competent contraception counselling that is free of coercion and promotes shared decision-making and patient autonomy. Target population: Individuals of reproductive age who seek contraception or counselling for family planning. Options: Contraception counselling is provided within a rights-based family...

RÉSUMÉ Objectif Fournir des recommandations pour que le counseling contraceptif soit adapté à la culture, n'exerce aucune coercition et favorise la prise de décision partagée et l'autonomie de la patiente. Population cible Les personnes en âge de procréer qui consultent afin d'adopter une méthode contraceptive ou d'obtenir des conseils en plani...

It is commonly assumed that pornography use harms relationships. In the current research, we contribute to a small but growing body of work that challenges this assumption by examining an alternative explanatory mechanism for the associations between pornography use and relationship dysfunction. In contrast to dominant exposure-based explanations i...

The connection between pornography use and sexual violence remains an ongoing concern within and outside academia. The current research sought to test Confluence Model reasoning that pornography use will be most strongly related to sexual aggression among men who are high in the predisposing risk factors of hostile masculinity and impersonal sexual...

Affirmative sexual consent, which is ongoing, continuous, and clearly communicated, appears to be highly inconsistent with the way in which individuals actually negotiate their sexual interactions. The current qualitative research proposes an Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model of sexual consent behavior and elicits, from young, se...

Introduction: With the emergence of rapidly expanding access to sexually explicit materials, research concerning pornography prevalence, pornography content, pornography users, and pornography effects has increased steadily among scientists and clinicians. Findings in this research area are often inconsistent and controversial. Aim: The current...

A great deal of pornography research is founded on dubious measurement practices. Measurement of pornography use has been highly variable across studies and existing measurement approaches have not been developed using standard measurement practices nor have they addressed construct validation or reliability. This state of affairs is problematic fo...

This study applied a dyadic approach to condom-use research. Partners from 124 heterosexual couples independently completed a questionnaire assessing condom-related attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to use condoms. Results demonstrate the superiority of a dyadic approach to understanding couples’ condom-use i...

Short chapter describing psychometric properties of the instrument

Over a decade has passed since the first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was introduced. These vaccines have received unequivocal backing from the scientific and medical communities, yet continue to be debated in the media and within the general public. The current review is an updated examination that the authors made five years ago on some of...

Couples who use pornography together (shared pornography use) and couples in which both members use pornography alone (concordant solitary pornography use) may have more sexual interests, preferences, and values in common than couples in which one couple member uses pornography and the other does not (discordant pornography use). From this perspect...

The CONTOUR®NEXT ONE BGM system (BGMS) includes a wireless-enabled BG meter that links to the CONTOUR®Diabetes app installed on a mobile device. The system, based on the IMB model, detects and reports patterns of BG readings and provides guidance for self-management. The IMB model emphasizes the need for actionable information, motivation to act, a...

Tinder is a frequently used geosocial networking application that allows users to meet sexual partners in their geographical vicinity. Research examining Tinder use and its association with behavioral outcomes is scarce. The objectives of this study were to explore the correlates of Tinder use and risky sexual behaviors in young adults. Participant...

Objective: The current research focuses on sexual risk behaviour among young adult Canadians who have not been vaccinated against HPV. Methods: Six hundred and forty-six Canadian university undergraduates completed a self-administered survey assessing HPV vaccination status and sexual risk behaviour. Results: Five hundred and thirty-seven part...

Introduction: Flibanserin is a postsynaptic 5-HT-1A agonist and 5-HT-2A antagonist for the treatment of generalized acquired hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women. Aim: To review and evaluate the efficacy and safety of flibanserin. Methods: We review and critique the appropriateness of the co-primary and secondary end points...

This brief was submitted to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in Regards to M-47, a Motion passed in December 2016 that instructs the Committee to investigate the "public health effects" of "violent and degrading" pornography. It discusses the lack of conclusive evidence for detrimental effects of pornography consumption an...

The current study adopted a participant-informed, “bottom-up,” qualitative approach to identifying perceived effects of pornography on the couple relationship. A large sample (N = 430) of men and women in heterosexual relationships in which pornography was used by at least one partner was recruited through online (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and...

The current study adopted a participant-informed, “bottom-up,” qualitative approach to identifying perceived effects of pornography on the couple relationship. A large sample (N = 430) of men and women in heterosexual relationships in which pornography was used by at least one partner was recruited through online (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and...

This series of articles, Standards for Clinical Trials in Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction, began with the discussion of a common expected standard for clinical trial design in male and female sexual dysfunction, a common rationale for the design of phase I to IV clinical trials, and common considerations for the selection of study population and...

The focus of this article, the fourth in the series, Standards for Clinical Trials in Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction, is on aspects of clinical trial design and measurement that are specific to clinical trials for treatments of female sexual dysfunction. Challenges in this area include the limited extent of treatment development and clinical tr...

The second article in this series, Standards for Clinical Trials in Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction, focuses on measurement of patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Together with the design of appropriate phase I to phase IV clinical trials, the development, validation, choice, and implementation of valid PRO measurements—the focus of the present ar...

This series of articles outlines standards for clinical trials of treatments for male and female sexual dysfunctions, with a focus on research design and patient-reported outcome assessment. These articles consist of revision, updating, and integration of articles on standards for clinical trials in male and female sexual dysfunction from the 2010...

Objective: To achieve a comprehensive understanding of patients' adherence to medication following acute coronary syndrome (ACS), we assessed the possible moderating role played by attachment orientation on the effects of attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen,...

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) concerns may profoundly influence the sexual and relationship health of the individual and the couple. This chapter reviews clinical scenarios in which STI issues may play an important role in the etiology, maintenance, and exacerbation of sexual and relationship dysfunction in the couple context. We explore the...

Objective To provide guidelines for health care providers on the use of contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy and on the promotion of healthy sexuality. Outcomes Guidance for Canadian practitioners on overall effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, contraindications, non-contraceptive benefits, side effects and risks, and initiation...

Objective: To provide guidelines for health care providers on the use of contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy and on the promotion of healthy sexuality . Outcomes: Guidance for Canadian practitioners on overall effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, contraindications, non-contraceptive benefits, side effects and risks, and initiatio...

Résumé Objectif Fournir des lignes directrices aux fournisseurs de soins quant à l'utilisation de modes de contraception pour la prévention de la grossesse et quant à la promotion d'une sexualité saine. Issues Orientation des praticiens canadiens en ce qui concerne l'efficacité globale, le mécanisme d'action, les indications, les contre-indicatio...

Pornography has been a major source of public concern for decades. In recent years, apprehension about the deleterious impact of pornography on romantic and marital relationships has joined a list of previously asserted harms, including claimed associations of pornography with communism, organized crime, aggression against women, and sex addiction....

Résumé Objectif Fournir des lignes directrices aux fournisseurs de soins quant à l'utilisation de modes de contraception pour la prévention de la grossesse et quant à la promotion d'une sexualité saine. Issues Orientation des praticiens canadiens en ce qui concerne l'efficacité globale, le mécanisme d'action, les indications, les contre-indicatio...

This study examined the relationship between condom use motivation and condom use behavioural skills, and their direct and mediated influence on condom use consistency from the perspective of the Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills (IMB) model of health behaviour. Participants were 149 currently sexually active heterosexual males aged 18–24 (...

The Confluence Model of sexual aggression (Malamuth, Addison, & Koss, 2000) states that pornography use, thought to promote sexual coercion of women through presentation of submissive female imagery, works in conjunction with sexual promiscuity (SP) and hostile masculinity (HM), proposed sexual aggression risk factors, to produce anti-woman sexual...

Epidemiologic studies of sexual function problems in men have focused on the individual male and related sociodemographic characteristics, individual risk factors and lifestyle concomitants, or medical comorbidities. Insufficient attention has been given to the role of sexual and relationship satisfaction and, more particularly, to the perspective...

Donn Byrne, eminent personality and social psychologist, contributor of foundational theory and research in domains including interpersonal attraction, human sexuality, repression-sensitization, and authoritarianism, died in Feura Bush, New York, August 10, 2014, at age 82. Byrne was born on December 19, 1931, in Austin, Texas. He authored a substa...

The sudden emergence of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s created an urgent requirement to achieve rapid, voluntary, and sustained behavior change to protect individual and public health. Social psychologists, realizing the relevance of the research approaches and theoretical models that define the discipline, began applying existing research methodol...

The current research reports a dyadic analysis of sexual satisfaction, relationship happiness, and correlates of these couple outcomes in a large multinational dataset consisting of 1,009 midlife heterosexual couples (2,018 individuals) recruited in Japan, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the United States (Heiman et al., 2011). Actor-Partner Interdepen...

Context: Sustainable interventions are needed to minimize HIV risk behavior among people living with HIV (PLWH) in South Africa on antiretroviral therapy (ART), a significant proportion of whom do not achieve viral suppression. Objective: To determine whether a brief lay counselor delivered intervention implemented during routine care can reduce...

Aims We investigated the impact of using an integrated, strip-free system compared to the use of single-strip systems on testing frequency and glycemic control in individuals with insulin-treated diabetes. Methods This multinational, comparative, cluster-randomized, observational study included 311 patients with type 1 and insulin-treated type 2 d...

Social and structural factors including HIV stigma are theorized to drive global disparities in HIV prevalence. This study tests whether HIV self-stigma, or experiences of stigma at the individual level, is associated with engagement in unprotected sex among people living with HIV (PLWH) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where 37.4% of adults are liv...

High adherence is important in microbicide trials, but no adherence interventions to date have demonstrated empiric improvements in microbicide adherence or effectiveness. Approximately midway during the CAPRISA 004 trial, we implemented a novel adherence intervention (Adherence Support Program-ASP), based on an Information-Motivation-Behavioral Sk...

Objectives: Recent research has established that the information, motivation, and skills demands of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) represent significant challenges to patient adherence and achievement of glycemic control. Improved self-monitoring technology could be employed to lessen the demands of self-monitoring and achieve optimal pati...

This study explored gender differences in young adult heterosexual men's and women's experiences, beliefs, and concerns regarding the occurrence or nonoccurrence of orgasm during sexual interactions, with emphasis on the absence of female orgasm during intercourse. Qualitative reports were obtained from five female focus groups (N = 24, M age = 19....

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide, as well as the causal factor in other diseases. Strong evidence for a causal etiology with HPV has been stated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for cancers of the cervix uteri, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and or...

Barriers to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine acceptability in Israel include Israel's relatively low incidence of cervical cancer; the religiously-based 80% circumcision rate in Israel, which is regarded as contributing to the lower incidence of HPV infection in the country; the fact that HPV vaccine provides immunity against only few virus types...

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as one of the major causes of infection-related cancer worldwide, as well as the causal factor in other diseases. Strong evidence for a causal etiology with HPV has been stated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for cancers of the cervix uteri, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and or...

Objective: To strengthen the national framework for care of adolescents and women affected by female genital cutting (FGC) in Canada by providing health care professionals with: (1) information intended to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the practice; (2) directions with regard to the legal issues related to the practice; (3) clini...

Renforcer le cadre national des soins offerts aux adolescentes et aux femmes affectees par l'excision genitale feminine (EGF) au Canada en fournissant aux professionnels de la sante : (1) des renseignements ayant pour but d'approfondir leur comprehension de cette pratique et leurs connaissances a ce sujet; (2) des consignes quant aux aspects legaux...

The aim of this investigation was to identify factors associated with HIV transmission risk behavior among HIV-positive women and men receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Across 16 clinics, 1,890 HIV+ patients on ART completed a risk-focused audio computer-assisted self-interview upon enrolling in a prevention-with...

Background Clinical guidelines play a critical role in the prevention and control of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs). Little is known in Canada as to the uptake of clinical recommendations and the comfort-level of family practitioners performing STBBI-related clinical tasks. Methods To evaluate the prevention and control of...

Background Moving clinical guidelines into practise requires the development of clinical knowledge products to aid family practitioners. A variety of product types and formats may need to be used to suit different needs by career-stage. Methods To evaluate the sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) knowledge product needs of practi...

Background: Type 2 diabetes is an individual health challenge requiring ongoing self-management. Remote patient reporting of relevant health parameters and linked automated feedback via mobile telephone have potential to strengthen self-management and improve outcomes. This research involved development and evaluation of a mobile telephone-based r...

Introduction Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an exceedingly prevalent sexually transmitted infection with serious medical, sexual, and relationship consequences. HPV vaccine protection is available but vaccine uptake is very inconsistent. Aims This research applies two major theories of health behavior uptake, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the T...

The current paper reviews research findings concerning the association of pornography with sexual violence and paraphilic interests. Little clarity concerning the causal impact of pornography on sexual aggression or child-oriented sexual behavior has been achieved in the scientific literature. Laboratory experimentation demonstrates that violent po...

Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake in many countries has been sub-optimal. We examine several issues associated with non-vaccination that have received particular attention, including fears about sexual risk compensation, concerns about vaccine safety, inadequate vaccination recommendations by health care providers (HCPs), and di...

Abstract Little is known regarding factors implicated in early engagement and retention in HIV care among individuals not yet eligible for antiretroviral therapy (pre-ART) in sub-Saharan Africa. Identifying such factors is critical for supporting retention in pre-ART clinical care to ensure timely ART initiation and optimize long-term health outcom...

Objective: The current study applied the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model (Fisher & Fisher, 1992; Fisher & Fisher, 1993) to identify factors associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission risk behavior among HIV-infected South Africans receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), a population of considerable signifi...

Inconsistent coital orgasm is a common complaint among women presenting with sexual function concerns. While sex therapy interventions incorporating explicit instructions and specific models of direct clitoral stimulation have been used to improve coital orgasm consistency among women, it is unclear whether simple exposure to sexually explicit mode...

To review current knowledge about emergency contraception (EC), including available options, their modes of action, efficacy, safety, and the effective provision of EC within a practice setting. The combined estradiol-levonorgestrel (Yuzpe regimen) and the levonorgestrel-only regimen, as well as post-coital use of copper intrauterine devices, are r...

S elf-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) can be instrumental in achieving glycemic control in individuals with type 11,2 or type 23–8 diabetes. SMBG can help people with diabetes understand the effects of food and exercise on blood glucose and assist them to make healthy choices; provide insights to patients and clinicians concerning the effectiven...

This article provides an overview of current knowledge regarding the nature of sexually explicit materials and the effects of exposure to such materials. It reviews both functional and content-based definitions of sexually explicit material, illustrates the cultural and historical ubiquity of sexual representations, and reviews research concerning...

The current chapter reviews research on correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake. Findings are organized within an Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model framework, which specifies that HPV vaccination information, motivation to act on this information, and behavioral skills for acting on it effectively, are fundamental...

Background: This study evaluated whether education and use of the advanced meter features of the CONTOUR(®) (Bayer HealthCare LLC, Diabetes Care, Tarrytown, NY) blood glucose monitoring system (BGMS) affect the frequency and pattern of blood glucose testing in insulin-using subjects with diabetes who routinely perform self-monitoring of blood gluc...

The Sexual Desire Relationship Distress Scale (SDRDS) was developed to address the need for a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure of sexual distress associated with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The SDRDS is a 17-item PRO that includes items related to personal distress and distress related to relationship with partner. The aim of th...

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) has been estimated to occur in 10%-15% of adult women in large population-representative and community-based studies. However, none of these studies have used in-person diagnostic interview assessment to rule out alternative diagnoses, nor has the impact of other health conditions or help-seeking experiences...

This study examined the level of emphasis (topic not taught, minimal, considerable, heavy) placed on 18 sexual health topics within family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and undergraduate medicine programs at Canadian medical schools. Forty-one of 51 programs contacted (80.4%) returned usable questionnaires. For the three disciplines combined...