Objective:

to describe sexual practices and health care of women who have sex with women (WSW).

Methods:

this was a cross-sectional study with data obtained by means of an electronic questionnaire answered by WSW from the five regions of the country (2013-2014).

Results:

among 582 WSW, oral sex (95.2%) and digital penetration of the vagina (97.3%) were predominant, with rare use of barrier methods (6.7% and 5.8%, respectively); in the last five years, women who had sex exclusively with women, compared to those who had sex with women and men, were less likely to use barrier methods with women (28.3% versus 41.1%; p=0.041), less likely to have an annual check-up with a gynecologist (38.9% vs. 70.8%; p=0.033), less likely to receive guidance about sexually transmitted infections (STI) (44.0% vs. 59.1%; p=0.034) and about sexual doubts (50.0% vs. 63.0%; p=0.044).

Conclusion:

infrequent use of barrier methods may be a vulnerability factor for STI; it highlights the importance of guidelines for adequate health care for WSW.

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