'They never tell you about the consequences': young people's awareness of sexually transmitted infections

Abstract

Young people are at risk from sexually transmitted infections (STIs)--the incidence of chlamydia in the UK is highest among young women aged 16-19. Despite this, young people lack knowledge about STIs and are more aware of the risks of unwanted pregnancy than their risk of acquiring an STI. This study used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine what teenagers know about STIs, their prevention, symptoms, treatment and services. Only one-third of respondents recognized chlamydia as an STI. The little knowledge of STIs that was revealed was superficial. Few were aware that special services existed for STIs. Condoms were seen as contraception, not as a method of preventing infection transmission. High teenage pregnancy rates have received much publicity but less attention has been paid to rising STI incidence. Programmes aimed at decreasing pregnancy rates through adoption of effective hormonal contraception not only fail to address STIs but may be detrimental to prevention efforts.

A study on knowledge, attitude and practice of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV in adolescent population in Wardha, Maharashtra, India

“…11 Gonorrhoea was identified as an STD from a given list by 84% of adolescents in the survey by Tyden et al by 98% in the survey by Andersson-Ellström et al and by 53% in the survey by Garside, et al Knowledge and awareness was quite high in all studies reporting on HIV/AIDS, with more than 90% of adolescents being able to identify the disease as an STD from a given list or in response to the direct question "Have you ever heard of HIV/AIDS?" [12][13][14][15] In one study where the open question "Which STDs do you know or have you heard of?" was used, 88% of respondents mentioned HIV/AIDS.…”

Inducing Immune Protection Against Trichomonas vaginalis: A Novel Vaccine Approach to Prevent HIV Transmission

“…However, many of the teenagers were ill-or misinformed about the names of common STI, how to identify a possible infection, where to seek treatment, etc. (Garside et al, 2001). Lack of education has clearly been shown to be a risk factor for acquiring STI.…”

School-linked sexual health services for young people (SSHYP): a survey and systematic review concerning current models, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and research opportunities

“…However, as hormonal methods alone do not offer protection against STIs, such initiatives may have a negative impact on STI prevention. Garside et al 74 have noted that teenagers who replace condoms with hormonal methods for pregnancy prevention rarely continue to use condoms for STI prevention. Thus, they may substantially reduce their risk of pregnancy at the same time as they increase their risk of contracting an STI.…”

“…Cost of contraception and other services 37,44,58 Provision of free contraception 37,44,58,74,83,85 One service (baskets and free machines) addressed this barrier by making contraception available for free 55 One study evaluated the impact of cost on the accessing of contraception: 55 students accessed condoms 50+ times more frequently from baskets for free than from vending machines; schools only with vending machines had much smaller mean numbers of condoms per student, and the likelihood of students acquiring condoms was three times lower in schools with vending machines requiring payment 62,82 Room is completely private 62,82 No intervention focused on addressing this issue…”