Running head: SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

Reproductive Health: Sexually Transmitted Infections

Briana Mesa

California State University, San Bernardino

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Question 1

An Inland Empire teen clinic has shown to have reported over 65 cases of Syphilis within

the past 6 months, which is an obvious public health issue. As a public health professional, you

must sit there and ask yourself questions as to how this may have happened. Some questions

may be along the lines of: Is this an underserved community? Does this community have proper

access to healthcare or preventative resource’s? Does this community have proper exposure to

information on STI’s and prevention? Once you ask yourself these questions, you must address

the outbreak at hand.

There are many ways to try to get down to the root of an outbreak, but not all may be

tailored correctly for a specific community outbreak. The way I would go about addressing this

issue is by developing a hypothesis that would explain the outbreak. Within this hypothesis the

factors to be addressed are the exposures, mode of transmission, transmission source, risk factors

for the outbreak and the at-risk population itself (CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, n.d, pg.

15). Contacting each of these reported cases may be costly but following up with them is a great

way to keep tabs on furthers expansion of the STI at hand. It is a sensitive subject as well, so

another way to keep tabs is by running a media campaign that addresses the health alert of that

community (CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, n.d, pg. 16). Not only can this this method of

action brings awareness, but it may also aid the further spread of Syphilis due to more

individuals taking initiative to get tested.

This community, with ages ranging from 16-25, may have contracted Syphilis due to

improper knowledge of STI contraction and prevention. Most individuals that fall in this age

group make decisions that put them at a higher risk of contracting STI’s. Not only that, they are
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more likely to have multiple partners and engage in unprotected sex. All of which may have

been the exact reasoning behind the contraction of Syphilis within this case.

Question 2

When given a short amount of time to educate the youth on STI’s, it is important to

choose wisely. With a limited amount of time, I would focus the presentation based on the top 3

most prevalent STI’s within the United States. These would be Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and

Syphilis which each one reaching an all-time high within the last year (New CDC Report: STDs

Continue to Rise in the U.S., 2019). I chose this route due to high rise prevalence that they have

within our country. They need to be discussed in order to lower their future prevalence and the

impact that they may have on the students I would be speaking to.

Keeping an audience engaged is hard enough, but when they’re young it’s even more

difficult. I would start by telling my audience why they should listen to what I’m presenting due

to its very important nature. Along with that, I would make sure to use words that they would

understand. Not all high school students have high health literacy, so it is important to tailor my

vocabulary to those who don’t. Also, I would hit them with a “shock factor”, which in this case

would be things such are photographs. Pictures can say enough on their own and I would hope

that this would be a useful tactic in this situation. In scenarios where the audience loses

attention, I would bring them back by getting them involved through a small Q & A portion.

Getting them to talk about what they are having questions on may spark the attention of others

with the same question and therefore bring the attention of the room back.
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Question 3

Discussing topics such as sex and prevention can be easy or hard depending on who you

are speaking to. With those that are comfortable with the topic of sex and prevention, I would

simply list the types of prevention methods available to them. Whether this be what to use, when

to use them, or where to obtain these products and resources available if they find themselves in

sticky situations. There are also other individuals or groups that aren’t comfortable with talking

about this topic, so approaching them needs to be done differently. This can vary from people

who aren’t opened to talking about sex or even the religious views they may believe in. Being

culturally appropriate is a great thing to practice, especially in our field. I wouldn’t unleash a

load of information on them because this can scare them and possibly disengage with what I’m

trying to convey. Talking to them step by step, taking it slow and asking them constantly if they

feel I’m going too far is a method I would use. Also, maybe if they would prefer not to speak

about prevention aloud, I would provide pamphlets or online resources so they may read to

themselves if that’s what they choose.

Preference is a huge part of prevention, but not everyone has the same preference. The

most common reason I have heard when in relation to condoms is that they are uncomfortable.

This may reign true for many, but there also many other reasons dislike condoms. Other reasons

may be that people don’t believe it is real sex with a condom on, they find them unattractive,

some may be allergic to latex, they’re expensive, religious reasoning or they have no faith in the

effectiveness of a condom (Source, 2017).

Trying to convince those who don’t like condoms can be tricky, but there’s always

different types of condoms that might fit your taste. Condoms come in types that may be ribbed

for pleasure, colored, or in specific materials that may suit that person (Planned Parenthood ,
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2019). There are also flavored condoms and lube that make oral sex more pleasurable (Planned

Parenthood , 2019). We can’t forget the fact that there are female condoms that have rings for

the pleasure of your partner and yourself as well (Planned Parenthood , 2019).

Question 4

In cases where you must explain the specifics on HIV, you may not want to use difficult

terminology. Explanations of this STI can be in out into simpler terms. HIV is virus that attacks

the cells that fight off other infections or diseases in your body (What Are HIV and AIDS?,

2019). It is contracted by coming into contact with specific bodily fluids of someone who

already has HIV or by sharing needles from drug usage (What Are HIV and AIDS?, 2019).

Anybody is at risk for HIV when practicing risky sex behaviors (unprotected sex), but

gay/bisexual men and transgender women at most at risk (Who Is at Risk for HIV?, 2018).

Ways to prevent HIV are to practice safe sex, limit your sexual partners, use clean needles and

get tested if you have had unprotected sex.

Question 5

Knowing the incubation period important when working in the field of disease treatment

or prevention is important because during this time a person may be infectious once symptoms

have started. This depends on the disease, but it has shown that someone with an acute

infectious disease may be infectious and in turn may spread the disease to others (Nishiura,

2011). Also, knowing the incubation period of a disease is important because during the time of

symptom onset, you may be able to start treatment and in turn lower the chances of the disease

spreading.
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References

Cdc’s Division of Std Prevention Sexually Transmitted Disease Outbreak Response Plan Guide .

(2019). CDC’s Division of STD Prevention Sexually Transmitted Disease Outbreak Response

Plan Guide . Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/std/program/outbreakresources/outbreak-

response-plan-guide.pdf

Content Source: HIV.govDate last updated: June 17, 2019. (2019, June 20). What Are HIV and

AIDS? Retrieved from https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-

hiv-and-aids.

Content Source: HIV.govDate last updated: May 15, 2017. (2018, August 24). Who Is at Risk for

HIV? Retrieved from https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/who-is-at-

risk-for-hiv.

Nishiura, H. (2007, May 11). Early efforts in modeling the incubation period of infectious diseases

with an acute course of illness. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1884151/.

Parenthood, P. (2019). How Can I Make It Easier to Have Safer Sex?: Advice & Tips. Retrieved

from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/safer-sex/how-can-i-make-it-

easier-have-safer-sex.

STDs Continue to Rise in the U.S. Press Release. (2019, October 8). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2019/2018-STD-surveillance-report-press-release.html.

Teen Health Source. (2017, November 22). FAQ: Why doesn't everyone like condoms? Retrieved

from http://teenhealthsource.com/blog/faq-why-doesnt-everyone-like-condoms/.