Introduction
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) place a significant economic and healthcare burden. It has been determined that over 35 bacterial, viral, and parasite infections are sexually transmissible (Chesson et al. 203). Approximately 2.4 million instances of sexually transmitted diseases were reported in 2020, according to the CDC (Hopkins Tanne 1275). This comprised 1.5 million instances of chlamydia, 600,000 cases of gonorrhea, around 130,000 cases of syphilis, and 2,000 cases of congenital syphilis, with almost every disease with a rising trend of at least 50% since 2016 (Hopkins Tanne 1275). STDs can have a negative impact on long-term health, especially in women and children. Infertility, cancer, and perinatal infections in children born to women with STDs are a few health issues that can result from these conditions (Van Gerven et al. 1125). According to the CDC’s most recent estimates, STDs cost the U.S. healthcare system nearly $16 billion in total medical expenses (CDC). Thus, the increasing trends of STDs, their detrimental impact on the general public’s health, and rising expenses necessitate solutions, including screening, vaccines, and awareness.
Screening
Services for sexually transmitted diseases, such as testing, diagnosis, and counseling for young people, continue to be subpar. Solution-focused and action-oriented study with adolescents is required in the face of the rising prevalence of bacterial STDs, disturbing STD inequities, and consistently low screening rates among young people (Grieb 176). Enhancing the testing process—by, for example, enhancing openness in the testing procedure, boosting patient trust, offering other testing choices, and delivering incentives or rewards for testing—will help solve the STD problem (Grieb 176). Additionally, paying attention to the clinic environment, creating a visually appealing medical area, and offering reception area activities are essential. Lastly, redefining STI testing by normalizing it can be beneficial. Therefore, the goal is to prevent transmission and help with STD control in addition to identifying people with asymptomatic illness so that they may be treated and their consequences are minimized. Since the given solution targets funds to make screening more affordable and less terrifying, the government can encourage healthcare establishments to implement such initiatives through tax exemptions.
However, additional opinions provide the perspectives of people who might not have insurance. For instance, most appointments are usually charged a Medicaid fee (Dean 552). As a result, while the government will keep incorporating tax exemption on many healthcare institutions in order to make screening and diagnosis for patients, those who lack insurance will not have such an opportunity. Consequently, there will be a vulnerable group of people unable to access proper treatment or maintain the transmission of STDs due to a lack of screening.
Vaccines
Another solution to the problem of sexually transmitted diseases is the incorporation of affordable and efficient vaccines while increasing awareness of their positive influences and protection from comorbidity. The issue of STD control might be significantly simplified by the development of safe and efficient vaccinations. Recent reports of a working vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) are encouraging (Grieb 176). In the given situation, upon seeking vaccination, many individuals will be at lower risk of developing fatal diseases that will be complementary to the contracted STD (Grieb 176). In the case of an HPV, women are usually exposed to the risks of developing cancer in their reproductive organs. While many younger individuals are unaware of the detrimental impact of lack of vaccination, increased awareness can help boost the generation’s interest in their health.
Yet, despite being among the cost-effective health care treatments, decreased vaccination rates and variance in vaccination coverage below policy objectives are on the rise in industrialized nations, partly because of doubts about the worth and advantages of vaccination. Moreover, even if decent vaccines were available, it would be challenging to implement vaccination programs in emerging regions (Maman 2132). This is in addition to the social acceptance of immunizations to specific populations and the concern of parental permission in cases where the vaccines should be given before entering sexual activity (Maman 2132). Additionally, it may be anticipated that post-vaccination behavior changes brought on by a sense of claimed immunity may paradoxically increase the frequency of STDs for which a vaccine is not now widely available, such as HIV.
Education Initiatives
Finally, when analyzing one of the causes of STDs, this involves a poor understanding of such diseases and a lack of proper education, which then continues the spread even when individuals reach adulthood. In this case, preventive care will aim to change sexual practices in many various manners. This will include promoting safe sexual contact, which includes limiting the number of sexual partners, standardization of safe and secure sexual activities like non-penetrative genital contacts, and ultimately empowering the proper use of contraceptives (Grieb 178). It additionally encourages the gradual onset of sexual initiation, sexual abstinence, and reciprocally committed sexual experiences.
In order to reach the given objectives, peer-aided education programs can be used to accomplish this. Adolescents, who frequently have a greater incidence of STD but are additionally more inclined to modify their behavior, are in great need of this information (Grieb 178). In this situation, what will be necessary for these methods is to make the conversations about sexual intercourse comfortable and not involve pressure. There have been reported positive outcomes when it comes to such approaches to education and spreading awareness. For instance, improvements in sexual behavior demonstrated by longer wait times for first sexual intercourse and fewer partners are responsible for some of the most significant decreases in HIV reported prevalence rates seen in Uganda (Grieb 178). Therefore, such methods of peer-aided education prove to be helpful.
Many nations have not given sexuality, relationships, and HIV counseling enough priority in the core curriculum, despite the mounting evidence that it can lower the incidence of unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Theoretically, school systems offer a crucial chance to educate young people about the given matters in ways that are reproducible and long-lasting in environments with few resources (UNESCO 8). Since many adolescent individuals begin relationships when they are still in school, the environment is even more crucial for providing sex education to younger generations (UNESCO 8). Still, this potential is substantially undermined by ongoing enrollment issues, a lack of finance, and subpar infrastructure projects, including the supply of teacher preparation (UNESCO 8). As a result, while sex education is a good choice in terms of lowering STD incidence, improper educator training does not provide the intended results.
Conclusion
In sum, solutions, including screening, vaccinations, and awareness, are required because of STDs’ rising trends, negative effects on the public’s health, and escalating costs. As for the opposing opinions, the first argues that tax exemptions will make no difference in the lives of uninsured people. However, STD centers might be a good option since they may maintain their financial viability even if not all appointments are reported to insurance, guaranteeing that underprivileged or disadvantaged patients can access care. Another point made was that vaccines will be opposed by the parents since there is a need for their consent. In this case, it will be vital to help parents make informed decisions with medical professionals since many parents are unaware of the vaccine’s benefits. Lastly, sex education and programs aimed at raising awareness might have a minimal effect due to the low competence of educators. In this situation, peers can be involved in such form of education and the instructors can be provided with training activities.
Works Cited
CDC. “Incidence, Prevalence, and Cost of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web.
Chesson, Harrell W., Mayaud, Philippe, and Sevgi O Aral. “Sexually Transmitted Infections: Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Prevention.” Major Infectious Diseases (3rd ed.), edited by Barry R. Bloom, King K. Holmes, Prabhat Jha, Stephano Bertozzi, World Bank Publications, 2017, pp.203-233. Web.
Dean, Lorraine T et al. “The Affordability of Providing Sexually Transmitted Disease Services at a Safety-net Clinic.” American journal of preventive medicine, vol. 54, no. 4, 2018, pp.552-558. Web.
Grieb, Suzanne M. et al. “Identifying Solutions to Improve the Sexually Transmitted Infections Testing Experience for Youth Through Participatory Ideation.” AIDS Patient Care and STDs, vol. 32, no. 8, 2018, 330-335. Web.
Maman, Khaled et al. “The Value of Childhood Combination Vaccines: From Beliefs to Evidence.” Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, vol. 11, no. 9, 2015, 2132-41. Web.
Tanne, Janice Hopkins. “Covid-19: Sexually transmitted diseases surged in US during pandemic.” BMJ, vol. 377, 2022, p.1275. Web.
UNESCO. “Review of Sex, Relationships and HIV Education in Schools.” The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, n.d. Web.
Van Gerwen, Olivia T., Christina A. Muzny, and Jeanne M. Marrazzo. “Sexually transmitted infections and female reproductive health.” Nature Microbiology, vol. 7, no. 8, 2022, pp.1116-1126. Web.