Sexually Transmitted Infections ( Stis )

The challenges that this population faces are directly related to psychosocial, physiological, economic and behavioral factors. Challenges such as these can cause serious obstacles for the prevention of STDs due to their influence on access to care, willingness to seek treatment, and social behaviors regarding sexuality. Often older adults are looked at as

Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.

"Approximately four million teens get a sexually transmitted disease every year" (Scripps 1). Today’s numbers of sexually active teens differ greatly from that of just a few years ago. Which in return, projects that not only the risk of being infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) has risen, but the actual numbers of those infected rise each year as well. These changes have not gone unnoticed. In fact have produced adaptations as to how society educates its young adults about sex, using special programs, various advertising, and regulating sexual education courses in public schools. One major adaptation is the advancement and availability of

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to compromise the health of thousands of Americans daily, predominantly adolescents. According to the World Health Organization (2013), approximately one million Americans acquire an STD every day. Although the percentage of adolescents who have had sexual intercourse has declined since the 1990’s, those who have had sex are less likely to use any form of contraception, thus placing them at greater risk of acquiring an STD (Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2015). Of the many STDs that are prevalent in the United States, chlamydia is one of the most commonly reported STDs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011). Undiagnosed or untreated chlamydia can cause many health problems including cervicitis, urethritis, and can advance to severe health issues such as pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy (CDC, 2011).

Lifelong sexual health for adolescents requires this vulnerable population have information about and access to affordable, youth-friendly, and culturally competent sexual healthcare services. In addition, the providers of these sexual healthcare services should be trained to respect privacy and support these teens in making individualized choices that are appropriate for them. As evidenced by the rate of STIs and unplanned pregnancy among marginalized youth populations, barriers such as stigma, discrimination, lack of knowledgeable providers, cost burden,

For many young adults, sex is an uncomfortable topic to discuss with others. In fact, many college students now report relying on the internet as their main source of sexual health information (Rennis, McNamara, Seidel, & Shneyderman, 2015). While the internet can be a useful resource for learning about certain topics, many students are unaware of how to find credible sources online (Rennis et al., 2015). When it comes to safe sex and STI prevention, schools across the U.S. need to make sure that students have access to reliable sexual health information. Although some action has been taken toward addressing the issue, sexually transmitted diseases continue to remain a prevalent issue

Master of Professional Health Debra Hauser states that sexual education is an essential part of the development and growth of teenagers. In her article “Youth Health and Rights in Sex Education”, MPH Hauser provides a report of teenage pregnancies and STDs incidences, which points out that each year in the United States, about 750,000 teens become pregnant, with up to 82 percent of those pregnancies being unintended. Young people ages 15-24 account for 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S (Hauser). According to Hauser, “sex education teaches young people the skills they need to protect themselves”, such as the ability to recognize patterns of a toxic relationships, learning to value and have control over their bodies, understanding

The reason why STD's are so high among the youth is that some of the tactics don’t work as well as we would like. A big contributor is the scare tactic, where a parent or educator shows you the worst-case scenario of an

“I dream of the day when every new born child is welcome, when men and women are equal and when sexuality is an expression of intimacy, joy and tenderness” Elise Ottesen-Jensen, the Founder, Swedish Association for Sexual Education (1993).

The more frequent occurrence of STDs in the younger generations are also based upon the multiple barriers in retrieving the benefits in STD prevention services which includes the lack of health insurance or inability to pay, no transportation, embarrassment of the services in the facilities, and worries of discretion. (STDs) According to the US Department of Health and Human Service, twenty five percent of sexually active adolescents have already obtained an STD. (Parillo) The severity of the issue is approached with the control strategies and educational strategies. In which these educational strategies are more effective when it involves a big health educational program that is provided to our minors. The young populations that are particularly affected by STDs are the young women with a low income for it is easier for a female to receive an STD compared to men. And with those women having a low income, they are not able to access the services that are being provided to them. Today, four in ten sexually active adolescent girls have obtained an STD that can cause infertility and death; also two thirds of adolescent boys have HIV diagnoses.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are caused by more than 25 infectious pathogens transmitted from one person to the other during anal, vaginal as well as oral intercourse. More so, infected pregnant women can transmit STIs to infants in utero, during birth, or through breastfeeding. The most common STIs in the U.S. include chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus, trichomoniasis, and bacterial vaginosis (Buttaro, Trybulski, Bailey, & Sandberg-Cook, 2013). According to the Centers for disease control and prevention, CDC (2015), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a common STD affecting more than 1.2 million people in the United States (CDC, 2015). Compared to men, women are more biologically susceptible to STIs. Adolescents and young adults are at higher risk of transmitting STIs due to their sexual behaviors that consists of several partners, unsafe sex without condoms, and endocervical ectopia in female patients (Buttaro et al., 2013).

In further understanding what sexually transmitted infections are one must know exactly what the different types of sexually transmitted infections. In this case, the World Health Organization and Wikipedia.com clearly define each type of infection:

OVERVIEW:  After researching from my textbook and the websites provided, I learned that STIs are Sexually Transmitted Infection which  is an infection that has been transmitted through sexual activity. Some STIs are syphilis, AIDS, herpes, and gonorrhea. Its preferred the use of the term “STI” rather than STD. I learned it’s possible for someone to be infected without showing signs of disease, which means that the infection can be passed along by people who are showing no symptoms, that's why it's called STIs. Now on the other hand, it is the other way around. STDs is already determined that this type of infection is the reason for  the disease. The diagnosis is confirmed. The signs, and symptoms are being felt by the man or woman. Additionally,

Adults and teens alike know the possible risks of sexual content, yet it is still a growing problem. Any sexual contact without proper prevention can put us at risk of an STI. This is part of the reason why that there are twenty million new cases of STIs every year. In 2015, it was discovered that teens ages thirteen to twenty four account for over twenty three percent of all HIV cases in the US. According to the CDC, half of all STI cases are from teens. Even with sharing a water bottle STIs can spread from person to person. Some STIs are incurable, while others can be cured with a doctor’s help. All people who are educated in health know the risks, and are informed on how some STIs last a lifetime. Some teens think that STIs are only now

Kann, who did research on high school sex for the CDC, reports that “[i]n 2015, 41% of high school students reported having sexual intercourse” (Kann “Youth Risk” Recapp). These results show evidence that nearly half of all high school students are engaging in sexual intercourse. Out of this group, studies by the Kaiser Family Foundation find startling facts like the idea that “[a]ccording to a 1994 study, every year an estimated one in four sexually active teens contracts a sexually transmitted infection (STI)” (Kaiser Family Foundation U.S. “Teen Sexual”). Many students will then receive sexually transmitted infections and further spread them. As the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance states, “Nationwide, 41.2% of students had ever had sexual intercourse, 30.1% had had sexual intercourse during the 3 months before the survey (i.e., currently sexually active), and 11.5% had had sexual intercourse with four or more persons during their life”(Kann. L, et al,”youth risk”). This wide range of sexual partners in a high school setting greatly distributes very dangerous sexually transmitted diseases. As UNAIDS, a global effort to end aids foundation’s research, states, “1 million [830 000–1.2 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2016” (UNAIDS “Fact sheet - latest statistics”). Not only does the HIV affect younger children, but it has also turned into a worldwide epidemic, according to HIV global