STDs prevalence among the youth especially in the institutions of higher learning in the USA is very high. According to the Centre of Disease Control (CDC); syphilis, Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most common sexually transmitted diseases. According to their report, Gonorrhea accounted for 395,000 of new cases, Chlamydia 1.5 million of new cases while syphilis has 24,000 cases most of which were more prevalent among the homosexual community. These cases were highly common among the ages of 15-24 years, with gonorrhea accounting to up to 53% and Chlamydia 65% infections among youth. Sexual health education and treatment within institutions of higher learning has not been given the attention required bearing in mind that college students fall into this age group (15-24 years) and are at an explorative age hence at a high risk of infections.
The need for this program arises since, though the institutions of higher learning offer preventive measures and free check up programs; many students overlook it due to fear of stigma if diagnosed positively or being known to be sexually active. Also institutions usually provide platforms for awareness and discussions but students avoid being involved in the initiative due to embarrassment and need for confidentiality in their behaviors. Other institutions ignore this sensitive subject assuming that the students are informed before they got to college which is of course not the case. Maintaining and strengthening main prevention infrastructure is crucial to providing effective national response to STDs. The challenge of identifying and treating STDs is compounded by limited resources arising from budgets cut in recent years; leading to staff layoffs and reduced hours of operation, that limit availability of essential diagnosis and treatment. Therefore this campaign is a health concern as it seeks to engage in proactive awareness, education and discussions.
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In assessing the need for this program, several types of data were reviewed. These includes medical reports such as the CDC report of 2016 on STDs that more cases of Chlamydia gonorrhea were reported by individuals in the age group of 20-24 with the figures at about 5000 infected per a population of 100,000. In addition, the number of youth diagnosed with the above infections from the health institutions, the rates of school dropout due to stigma and deteriorated health conditions of the infected individuals was also taken into account. Also, more data was derived from the societal concern from the published reports from the press and research. The increasing mortality and infertility rates among young adults also informed the need for the research. Chlamydia and gonorrhea account for 10-15% of pelvic inflammatory diseases among women if left untreated. It may also cause lasting damage to the oviduct and uterus which lead to infertility (CDC 2016). As at 2014, the average household medical expenditure was at $4,290 up from $2,664 in 2005 (Ann 2016), a major concern that created the need for this program.
This is an inclusive communication program that will target all youth and students in institutions of higher learning both infected and those that are not, since everyone is susceptible to infection. This program will also target youth within the age bracket of 15-25 years with multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection. The program is in line with the CDC recommendation of annual Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening and treatment guidelines.
References
Ann C., (2016) Household Healthcare Spending in 2014.
CDC, (2016) Sexually Transmitted Disease Annual Report
Handsfield, H. H. (2015). Sexually transmitted diseases, infections, and disorders: What’s in a name?. Sexually transmitted diseases , 42 (4), 169.
McFarlane, M., Brookmeyer, K., Friedman, A., Habel, M., Kachur, R., & Hogben, M. (2015). GYT: Get Yourself Tested Campaign Awareness Associations With Sexually Transmitted Disease/HIV Testing and Communication Behaviors Among Youth. Sexually transmitted diseases , 42 (11), 619-624.
Rouner, D., Long, M., Bubar, R., Vernon, I., & Aungie, B. (2015). Communication about sexually transmitted infections among rural and urban Native American Youth. Howard Journal of Communications , 26 (2), 172-192.
