6050 Week 4 Discussion

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Walden University *

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6050

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Health Science

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by EarlField13126

My selected population issue to focus on is the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections(STIs) in the United States. Healthypeople.gov (2018), states that annually there are 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections diagnosed. 1.1 million people have HIV, and 1 out of 5 people are unaware that they have the disease (healthypeople.gov, 2018). This is a serious issue as STIs that are not treated can cause many long term and reproductive health problems. More than 50% of those new cases were people in the 15-26 age group. This poses great epidemiological problems as well and economic burdens. In 2008 the healthcare costs associated to treat chlamydia was 516.7 million and the cost to treat Gonorrhea was 162.1 million. (Jamieson, Chang & Mmeje, 2018) The five population health determinants affect the prevalence of STIs in the United States Regardless of the many prevention programs and organizations to reduce prevalence, STI rates still are on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control (2018), brings out that the research shows that there are higher rates of STDs among some racial and ethnic minority groups are not determined by genetic or heritage, but by social conditions. Social environment factors such as poverty, decreased access to health care, lower educations levels all play a large role in prevalence. People in low social-economic classes cannot afford quality sexual health services. In regards to healthcare, many minorities may feel insecure about getting tested, because they do not fully trust the healthcare system in fear if discrimination or social stigma (Centers for Disease Control, 2018) These determinants all play a large role in the transmission rates of STIs in the US, however I do feel that access to health care is the most impactful. A person can’t get tested regularly or get treated for an infection if they can’t afford it or don’t have a way of access to services. Getting tested for all of the STDs can be expensive without insurance. There are also out of pocket expenses with insurance. We are at a fork in the road, the STI rates continue to

increase as access to healthcare is decreased. We as a nation need to continue to battle this endemic for our epidemiological and our economical problems. Resources HealtyPeople.gov(2018). Reproductive and sexual health. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-lhi-topics/ Reproductive-and-Sexual-Health Jamison, C.D., Chang, T., Mmeje, O.(2018). Expedited partner therapy: combating record high sexual transmitted infection rates. American Journal of Public Health, (108) 10, 1325- 1327. Retrieved from https://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp? T=P&P=AN&K=131745553&S=R&D=rzh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSep7c4wtvh OLCmr1Cepq5Sr6e4SbOWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGss0q1qK5IuePfgeyx44 Dt6fIA

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