One of the most common diseases in the United States is sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (Hayley, Dhir, & Roth, 2015). Sexually transmitted infections have huge consequences, including neonatal injury, reproductive complications and even death. Besides the human consequences, STIs have enormous economic consequences as well. The associated costs related to STIs in the United States costs over 16 billion annually in health care related costs. Every community is impacted by STIs although disparities do exists among ethnic and racial populations. Nurses play an important role because they are positioned well to educate patients about the consequences of STIs, to screen and to provide treatment for the disease. Nurses are also positioned well to help mitigate the stigma attached to STIs by providing confidential and sensitive care and promoting sexual health. The purpose of this paper is to glean the important findings, theories or ideas from a specific article that can be used to help nurses educate patient and their families about STIs. Further, these key findings will be explained regarding how the content would be used to teach patients more about STIs.
The article titled “Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States: Overview and authored by Hayley, Dhir and Roth and published in the American Journal of Nursing in 2015, serves as the exemplar for purpose of this paper. Two of the major findings within this publication related to STIs are that nurses have the potential to have a significant effect on STI rates and reinfection rates. This can be accomplished by educating patients on how to prevent STIs, how to adhere to treatment recommendations, how to notify partner and how to follow-up on care. The second major finding in this article is that all nurses and providers should screen patients for STIs and risky behaviors.
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"Sexually Transmitted Infections In The US".
The selected article provides an overview of the epidemiology for the most prevalent STIs in the US, as well as recommendations for screening, diagnosis and treatment. The article also reports on research related to STIs and nursing practice. The research findings demonstrate an increase in rates of gonorrhea that is resistant to antibiotics, the human papillomavirus (HPV) burden and associated cancers, the HPV vaccine impact, and increased rates of syphilis, as well as the relationship between the acquisition of STIs and HIV and transmission.
At the center of STI prevention is behavior change coupled with treatment. The goal of this preventative strategy is to limit the spread of the STI. Prevention strategies should include counseling, education, and identifying the infected individuals. Also, it is necessary to evaluate, treat and counsel the sexual partners of the infected person and when feasible, vaccinate. The correct use of condoms used consistently provides a significant amount of protection against most STIs, including HIV. Strategies for preventing STI also include HPV vaccination, circumcision, and sexual partner therapy.
Circumcision has been shown to reduce HPV among men and trichomoniasis among female partners. Vaccinations for pre-exposure to HPV are also available. There are currently three HPV vaccines available. The quadrivalent vaccine fights against 70% of cervical cancer, and 90% against genital warts. The bivalent vaccine helps protect against getting HPV but does not protect against genital warts. The 9-valent vaccine helps protect again HPV and five other strains that cause more than 20% of cervical cancers. These vaccines are recommended for girls and boys to be administered at the age of 11 or 12. Vaccines are also recommended for males up to 21 and females up to 26 and anyone who is immunocompromised.
Expedited partner therapy is a secondary prevention and crucial strategy. Since many STIs do not present with symptoms, it is not unusual for someone to be infected and not know. Expedited partner therapy. This therapy involves the patient delivering medication to their sexual partner, without the partner having to be medically evaluated. This strategy, as of March of 2015, was legal in 37 states and illegal in four states.
Because often STIs present with no symptoms, and because STIs can cause adverse pregnancy outcomes, it is important that pregnant women get screened and treated. Sexually transmitted infections can cause neonatal injury and cause severe complications to the reproduction system. It is therefore important that nurses educate their patients on the consequences of STIs and how to best prevent, screen, treat, and diagnose this disease.
Conclusion
Sexually transmitted infections have huge consequences, including neonatal injury, reproductive complications and even death. Nurses play an important role because they are positioned well to educate patients about the consequences of STIs, to screen and to provide treatment for the disease. The goal of preventative strategies is to limit the spread of the STI. Prevention strategies should include counseling, education, and identifying the infected individuals. Also, it is necessary to evaluate, treat and counsel the sexual partners of the infected person and when feasible, vaccinate.
The correct use of condoms used consistently provides a significant amount of protection against most STIs, including HIV. Strategies for preventing STI also include HPV vaccination, circumcision, and sexual partner therapy. Vaccinations for pre-exposure to HPV are also available. There are currently three HPV vaccines available. These vaccines are recommended for girls and boys to be administered at the age of 11 or 12. Vaccines are also recommended for males up to 21 and females up to 26 and anyone who is immunocompromised. Expedited partner therapy is a secondary prevention and crucial strategy however it is not yet legal in all 50 states.
- Hayley, M., Dhir, A., & Roth, C. (2015). Sexually transmitted infections in the United States: Overview and update. American Journal of Nursing, 115(9), 34-45.
