We hear about health epidemic all the time in the media. Do you remember being notified about cholera, or malaria? How about Ebola, in 2016? But what about STI’s; do you remember hearing about those in the media? Sexually Transmitted Infections, or STI’s, are swarming the younger population of Australia. Chlamydia has become the most prominent STI in Australia, with 71 751 recorded cases of infection. 75% of notifications were among those aged 15 to 29 years (USYD, 2017). STI’s have become Australia’s hidden epidemic, that impact on both males and females, now and in the future. These infections take an emotional, physical and social toll on the young population of Australia, whether derived from the infection itself, or the consequences …show more content…
The fear of being stigmatised due to carrying an STI, or transmitting it to a partner can force young people to exclude themselves from relationships with other people. The stigma surrounding STI’s can divide a person’s social judgement, as they may be unsure whether to look after the wellbeing of themselves or others. STI’s can inflict emotional change on the carrier, which affects them now and in the future. Mental illnesses that stem from emotional trauma, such as depression, can develop from having an STI. A study in the relationship between depression and STI’s revealed that depressive symptoms “extremely high” among STI carriers, with 39.2% of patients scoring well above the GHQ (General Health Questionnaire) …show more content…
If young people feel they are not psychologically prepared to have intercourse, then they are most likely not to be prepared for the health risks and consequences. Young people’s moral values and beliefs can impact their opinions and views about sexual intercourse. Before deciding to have sex, young people may undertake a review of their values and beliefs to help them decide what they are comfortable with and how this will impact their wellbeing. Being morally prepared for sex increases the wellbeing of both participants, as they can maturely deal with arising complications, such as an STI, fully conscious of their values and beliefs. There are multiple harm minimisation strategies that can be employed to deal the with emotional, social and physical risks of STI’s. Education systems that identify the commodity of STI’s in Australia assist primarily in the social and emotional, as it helps young people understand that STI’s are not as taboo as they once were, and that having an STI is not shameful or something that should be stigmatised. If young people are able to become more open about having an STI, then they can become more open to figuring out methods of protecting their partners against
Individual level interventions are essential when creating sexual health related interventions that target college aged students. Interventions targeting the individual level of the social ecological model are devised to make an impact on the individual’s knowledge, perception, and self-efficacy, among other factors, in regard to the behavior being changed (Glanz & Rimer, 2005). To find the relevant literature, the following search terms were referenced in both PubMed and Google Scholar: “STI”, “Screening”, “Behavior”, “Knowledge”, “Chlamydia”, “Students”, and “College”. This literature review focuses on interventions that targeted behavior changes in individuals in relation to a variety of STIs, including chlamydia, the outcome of interest.
... remains homeless. With a greater than 10% prevalence rate among street youth, which is about 10 times (less than 1%) the reported prevalence among the general youth population, is an easily curable STI called Chlamydia (Health Canada, 2006). This is a disease that could be spread through sexual contact with an infected partner either orally or anally. Between 1999-2003, there is a consistent increasing prevalence in street females than in males that is on the low (Health Canada, 2006). Gonorrhoea is another sexually transmitted disease that is common to street youth. The prevalence of gonorrhoea like Chlamydia is high in the street youth population as well as it is 20-30 times higher than that of the youth population in general. Also, just like the Chlamydia infection, the prevalence rates have been much higher in females than in males Health Canada, 2006).
Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard medical ethics and scientific accuracy, and have been empirically proven to be ineffective; therefore, comprehensive sex education programs which are medically accurate, science-based and empirically proven should be the standard method of sex education for students/children in the U.S.
Today’s young Americans face strong peer pressure to be sexually active and engage themselves in risky behaviors (Merino 100-109). Anyone deciding to have sex must first think about all the risks involved. Kekla Magoon, author of Sex Education in Schools, says that “half of all teens aged 15 to 19 years old in the United States have had sex” (Magoon 64-65). It is currently not required by federal law for schools to teach Sex education and those few schools that do teach Sex education have the decision to determine how much information is allowed. Advocates from both sides of the Sex education debate agree that teens need positive influences in order to make practical decisions (Magoon 88-89). Opponents of Abstinence-only education believe it fails because it does not prepare teens for all the risks of sex (Magoon 64-65).
There are still many issues that the government has been trying to address. One barrier that continues to exist is the stigma of HIV/AIDS. People avoid getting tested and sick individuals would wait until they were extremely ill before seeking treatment. The government has countered social stigma through a public health campaign to promote HIV testing. As more people participated in testing, public attitudes started changing (Glassman, 2016, p.28). Still, many traditionally at risk groups continue to be vulnerable. Female sex workers, young adults, and men who have sex with men, have lower rates of HIV testing and have less knowledge about HIV prevention (Glassman, 2016, p.28). Addressing these populations will require additional social
Currently, sex education in schools is primarily centered on the distribution of information without elaborating about the moral implications dealing with sex. Teenagers are well versed on things such as how long sperm lives inside the body and can identify all of the workings of the female reproductive system. However, they are still getting pregnant and still contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Anna Quindlen examines this trend in her essay, “Sex Ed”. Quindlen points out that it is the moral implications of sex that have been left out of the curriculum and it is the responsibility of parents to make those moral connections with their children (277). Understanding the morality of sex, she argues, may help teenagers to make more informed decisions on taking the next step towards sexual activity. They must understand that “…when you sleep with someone you take off a lot more than your clothes” (Quindlen 277). Sex is not simply a...
The focal point of this report is the Victorian Health and Wellbeing plan 2015 – 2019, created by the Victorian State Government after the imminent success of the original Victorian Health and Wellbeing plan allying the years of 2011 – 2015. The plan shares the ambitions of the World Health Organisation’s Global action plan on prevention and control of non-communicable disease. These ambitions of the distinct plan are “to reduce modifiable risk-factors and underlying social determinants by creating equitable health-promoting environments while aiming to strengthen and orient health systems for disease prevention and control through people-centred healthcare” (Department of Health, 2015). The report will tackle the priority area of Improving Sexual Health and Reproductive Health along with major components of the priority area such as the determinants of health and the at-risk groups affected by such an alteration. The determinants discussed are both biological and social, the biological; sex, the social; the social gradient, education and social support. The at-risk groups influenced by the priority area are; adolescents, pregnant women and new born children.
Today it is no longer a novelty to hear that teenagers are having sex. However, while this “bedroom” activity may be fun, there are now ample reports indicating that rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in teenagers have skyrocketed. Current data reveal that nearly 25% of adolescent girls who have sex are infected with one of the four commonly sexually transmitted infections-namely gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes and HIV (Kann et al, 2015). Nationally, the prevalence of STDs account for 50% of cases in people under the age of 25. While every ethnic and race has been known to be affected, African American youth are disproportionately affected. These data are not a surprise to professionals who are engaged in adolescent sexual health because the numbers have been slowly creeping up over the decades, despite national educational policies to counter the threat of STDs (Sales & DiClemente, 2016). All the STDs have a significant impact on sexual and reproductive health, if they are mot promptly diagnosed and treated. Although many preventive strategies have been implemented in all communities, the rates of STDs are still increasing (Madkour et al, 2016).
In today’s day and age, people are becoming sexually active at younger and younger ages. Without proper education, people do not know better and in turn have more unprotected sex. Many parents become outraged at how early their
Not surprisingly the lack of useful sexual information is one of the reasons of the spreading sex related diseases. According to The American Social Health Association (1998) each year there are near ten million of new cases of sexually transmitted diseases among the teenage...
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases STDs, a.k.a venereal diseases, infectious diseases passed from one person to another during sexual contact. STDs are the most common infections known. More than 12 million people in the United States, including 3 million teenagers, are infected with STDs every year. The United States has the highest STD rate in the world about one in ten Americans will contract an STD during his or her lifetime. People who do not know they are infected risk infecting their sexual partners and, in some cases, their unborn children. If left untreated, these diseases may cause pain or may destroy a woman's ability to have children. Some STDs can be cured with a single dose of antibiotics, but AIDS cannot be cured. Those most at risk for contracting STDs are people who have unprotected sex—without using a condom, people who have multiple partners, and people whose sex partners are drug users who share needles. Static’s show that Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 are most likely of catching STDs than older adults, because younger people usually have multiple sexual partners than an older person in a long-term relationship. Teenagers may be embarrassed to tell their sexual partners they are infected Teenagers may also be embarrassed or unable to seek medical attention for STDs. This means that they only more likely to pass the disease to other young people and have a greater risk of suffering the long-term consequences of untreated STDs. STDs are transmitted by infectious bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and single-celled organisms called protozoa that live in warm, moist parts of the body, like the genital area, mouth, and throat. Most STDs are spread while having sex, but oral sex can also spread disease. Some STDs are passed from a mother to her child while pregnant, when the disease enters the baby's bloodstream, during childbirth as the baby passes through the birth canal, or after birth, when the baby drinks infected breast milk. AIDS can be transmitted by blood contact such as open wounds, between people who share infected needles or received through an injection of infected blood. Some people believe that STDs can be transmitted through shaking hands or other casual contact, or through contact with inanimate objects such as clothing or toilet seats, but they can’t. Chlamydeous, is from trachoma is bacterium, is the most commonly transmitted STD in the United States.
Sex and relationship education (SRE) supports children through their moral, physical and psychological aspects of growing up to be an adult, and making sure they have knowledge on relationships, sex, human sexuality and sexual health (Sex Education Forum, 2010). There are three main elements in SRE, the first element is attitudes and values, which is about developing positive values and being able to consider moral issues before they make their decisions on having intercourse (Kirby, 2007). The second element is personal and social skills, which is about teaching children to have the confidence to value themselves and others, to become respectful of individual conscience and the skills to judge the kind of relationship they want; the third element is about accessing the knowledge and understanding of human sexuality, reproduction, sexual health, emotions and relationships (Kirby, 2007). The potential effect of SRE should be seen in these three areas, which include reduction in teenage pregnancy, and the chances of getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and being sexually assaulted, etc. SRE can either be given at home to the child by parents, in school by teachers, or in youth organizations, alternative educational institutions, or youth offending organizations by Shine staff or trained peer educators and volunteers (Levy 1992).
I found This article to be interesting because it discuss the importance of Abstinence, and how coitus is more than just vaginal sexual intercourse; it also includes, kissing, anal, oral and the use of sexual toys. Numerous individuals may think using a condom is 100% safe, but it is not. Condoms will protect individuals against certain STI’s; however, not thoroughly against infections such as AIDs, Genital warts and syphilis. Personally, I do not believe in premarital sex; however, not everyone feel the same way. In that case, I believe that public awareness and education should start at an early age, so that teens and adult will be aware about the aftermath of what they are getting into considering not every STI’s are treatable.
Teens that have sex before getting married suffer from the possible consequences of sex. Teens getting pregnant suffer by having to take care of a baby at a young age and trying to stay in school, or they have to deal with dropping out of school and not having a diploma or degree. Then, the parents of the teen suffer because they have to help raise a baby almost as if it is their own. The parents of the teen also have to teach their teen how to raise the baby because the teen does not know what to do. People who get a virus have to deal with passing it on to others including their children, and they always have to think about how they will have the virus for the rest of their life because they were having sex with multiple people. The children of the person with the virus also suffer having to deal with the virus for the rest of their lives and then passing the virus on to their children when they get older. This chain reaction all starts with a lack of sex education in sc...