Stigma Of Peer Education

Extensive research has attempted to identify principal factors that promote effective education and promotion when addressing poor sexual health. One critical feature of successful programs is the adoption of a multidimensional approach to sexuality, taking into consideration the influence of demographics and perceptions of sexual health between populations. Other critical factors allude to the creation of school education programs, constructive sexuality educators, effective sexual health promotion and gender inclusive environments.

Throughout my undergraduate journey at Morgan State University, I constantly heard of the most infamous rumor that has been passed down for decades: Morgan State was ranked with the highest rate HIV/AIDS and 80% of the students attending the university were HIV positive. As a health education major, this did not sit with me well, and I started to conduct some research to prove whether this infamous rumor had any actuality. I wanted to utilize what I learned as a health education and promotion major. Using my knowledge from my Assessment, Implementation, & Evaluation of Health Promotion Programs course, I implemented a program called the Student Wellness Ambassador Team also known as S.W.A.T. SW.A.T is dedicated to HIV/AIDS and STI

Did you know that 24 states in the US require their public schools to teach sex education and HIV education to their students (NCL.org)? Do they even need to understand sex or STDs? Well of course not. That’s why schools should not even teach these students sex because it’s just going to be too much for the high school students’ young mind, sex education will definitely motivate the students to have sex—regardless of their sexuality--, and it’s up to their not so busy parents to explain sex—and all its glory—to their children who are attending high school.

Next, a very useful way to stay STD free is to know your status. Most students today have no clue they are infected and unknowingly pass it on to partners or spouses. The government has made available health clinics where check up’s to know your status on STD’s are free. Clinics are also places where treatment can be given, if a certain STD is found and is treatable. Many students are embarrassed or scared to know their status and would rather just live their lives, not knowing their status. This mindset among citizens is very selfish, which can lead to the danger of others. In the sense of a woman knowing her status, she will be able to determine if birth is still an option if a certain STD has affected her fertility. Offspring’s are also kept safe, so parents can make wise decisions on whether diseases would be passed on off

"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

According to Koumans et. al (2005), there have not been any studies conducted on STD education or services provided by higher education institutions here in the U.S. However, several studies demonstrate that misinformation and lack of educational resources contribute to risky sexual behavior which can lead to STDs (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2014).Therefore, it is imperative that universities and colleges find ways to increase awareness of sexual health services available for students on campus.

Studies have also shown that abstinence-focused programs have failed to reduce STI rates. The American Sexual Health Association states, “More than half of all people will have an STD/STI at some point in their lifetime,” (“Statistics”). Comprehensive sex education would teach teenagers how to improve their sexual health, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Providing students with this information does not encourage them to participate in sexual activity sooner. Several findings show that, “[Comprehensive sex education] effectively promotes abstinence and may delay sexual debut, reduce sexual frequency, reduce the number of sexual partners, reduce STI risk, and increase the likelihood of consistent contraceptive use,” (Jeffries 173). Comprehensive sex education will be beneficial to students by teaching them how to have sexual intercourse safely, if they choose to not remain abstinent.

Numerous sexual partners enables the chances of contracting an STI, such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, or Syphilis, to increase; that being said, statistics indicate that one in every five teens has had four or more sexual partners. Teens of the ages 15 through 19 are among the highest rates of the population infected with the previously mentioned sexually transmitted diseases. Teens engaging in sexual activity are often exposed to diseases without full understanding of the ease that these infections can be transmitted; students need to be exposed to the severe consequences in order to promote more cautious future decisions, like the amount of sexual encounters. Many young males and females never acquire information on the numerous sexually transmitted infections that they could catch and distribute nor how to prevent or treat such diseases. The statistics of high school students that document receiving counseling on STDs and STD testing at a routine checkup with their doctor meets low expectations, recording at 42.8 percent for females and only 26.4 percent for males. The high rates of infected teens could be directly related to the lack of knowledge they receive on the possible diseases that can be distributed through sex. Without proper knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases, the

STDs can effects anyone.. Who does it affect the most? Why would they need this education? High school boys aged 14-18 Primary STD prevention relies on fi ve key strategies: practicing abstinence, choosing low-risk partners, discussing partners’ sexual history, using condoms consistently and not having multiple partners. Few studies have examined all of these strategies simultaneously, and few have focused on rural black adolescents, whose rates of early sexual initiation and STDs are among the highest in the nation. (p.

Syphilis, AIDS, herpes, these are something no one wants, unfortunately, thousands live day to day in hiding with these diseases. The number of reported sexually transmitted disease, also known as venereal disease, have greatly increased since the mid-1900s. There are roughly twenty-five different types of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States that we encounter, such as HIV, AIDS, genital warts, chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhea, hepatitis, syphilis, vaginitis and trichomonas’s. In most states today, medically, accurate sex education is required to be taught in public schools to the youth community at some point to educate about the uncaring world of sexual diseases. However, the processes to educate our youth are simply outdated

Low-income students are another group of students that sexual education programs need to cater to. According to Schalet et al., (2014), low-income students make up a large proportion of public school students in the United States, as one in six of students in public schools lives in poverty. This population of students also represents a disproportionate amount of the teenage birth and STD rates (p. 1602). Due to the large amount of low-income students, and this population's tendency to experience pregnancy or STDs, it is crucial that sexual education programs address low-income students in order to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy and STDs.

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.

Unlike older populations, college women are more likely to put off seeking care for STDs. This interval of prolonged care avoidance is mainly a result of the heightened sense of sexually transmitted disease associated stigma that is directed towards undergraduate women (Fortenberry, 420). Female students have increased fear regarding testing due to the bubble-like social setting that university campuses often create. One undergraduate woman discussed the source of her own fear and refusal towards testing, stating that "you don't want to tell people you are getting tested. I mean, it's that telephone effect.” Another female student had a similar sentiment and expressed how easily and quickly rumors could spread through college campuses (Barth

Mainly minorities and the poor are most at risk for STI, and report many of the cases in almost all form of STI’s. For example, Black women were more likely than white women to report receiving testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV (“Why Do Young Women Get Tested for SexuallyTransmitted Infections?” 1228). This is mainly due to the less educational resources available to them. The lack of resources results in less education, testing, and prevention. But race and money are not the only factor that plays a role. While most high schools and colleges in America take a role in educating students on sexually transmitted disease, there is still a large percent of sexually active adults who are not students and have less

Coinciding with the onslaught of the new millennium, schools are beginning to realize that the parents are not doing their job when it comes to sexual education. The school system already has classes on sexual education; these classes are based mainly on human anatomy. Most schools do not teach their students about relationships, morals, respect, self-discipline, self-respect, and most importantly contraceptives. Everyday students engage in sexual activity, many of them with out condoms. This simple act jeopardizes these students' futures and possibly their lives. An increasing amount of school systems are starting to combine messages involving abstinence from sexual activity,