Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Introduction
Sexually transmitted disease (STD) causes various health issues in the human body. Moreover, an STD may not have symptoms at the initial stage. As a result, STD patients may unknowingly infect their partners during sexual intercourse process. The STDs are easily spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Furthermore, STDs can create health problems to pregnant women and their fetuses. Therefore, medical experts suggest different control procedures that can reduce STD infections (Hobbs, Shi, Maze, & Briggs, 2014). The present paper analyzes STDs and describes the methods and objectives of their treatment. It also defines instruments, examinations, and geographic data that can help experts to investigate this issue.
Analysis
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are important health issues in American in general and Florida in particular, owing to their impact on social-economic lives of people. More than thirty types of parasites, bacteria, and viruses have been discovered to cause STDs in an unprotected sexual relationship. Furthermore, some STDs may not have any symptoms at the initial stage making it difficult to diagnose and treat. Such undiagnosed or untreated infections can cause penile and vaginal discharge, and ulcer on genitals. Among the common STDs that have been reported in Florida include bacterial infections such as syphilis and Chlamydia, and the more common viral HIV/AIDS (Mattei, Beachkofsky, Gilson, & Wisco, 2012). To treat the infections effectively, it is essential to have clearly defined methods, objectives, and sampling procedures as used by health care centers and health research institutions.
Objectives
STD is a common health problem in America and the State of Florida. Statistics show that over 50% of young people reported at least one case of an STD in their teenage life every year. The rates are higher in married and adult couples. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that each year about 19 million American people suffer from STDs (Hobbs et al., 2014). Most of the patients are of the age between 15 to 24 years (Rodriguez-Hart et al., 2015). In order to reduce the prevalence of STDs among this generation, medical researchers and practitioners have designed various objectives to target the groups which are most vulnerable to the STDs. For instance, in Florida, the medical board has developed policies and rules that help healthcare units and centers to provide efficient STD care in a quick, effective, and affordable way. One of the challenges that face the identification and treatment of the STDs is the stigma associated with having the disease, some people are likely to shy away from treatment centers for fear of being judged as immoral. Thus, there is a need to encourage people to seek for examination whenever they suspect of having contracted an STD. Early check can help to increase the success level for treating the disease and also prevent the spread to other people. Additionally, the medical boards create public seminars and checkup camps that help experts to discuss the side effects of unprotected sex (Hobbs et al., 2014). Thus, the health care service providers guide people to reduce STDs.
Methods
Medical researchers apply various methods to control or reduce STD in their laboratories and health research centers in Florida. Like in many parts of the world, medical researchers in Florida are using vaccinations to control the prevalence of some of the common STDs. This method of control is still under trial for highly prevalent STD like HIV/AIDS (Hobbs et al., 2014). More commonly, the vaccines are known to prevent Hepatitis A and B, and Human papillomavirus (HPV) among other STDs. Usually, the Florida Medical Board recommends these vaccines to the teenagers who are 11 and 12 years old and who are likely to be more sexually active at this stage (Patrick et al., 2015). In a national level, the CDC suggests American people to have a long-term monogamous relation with a reliable partner. Also, the organization advocates for the use of latex condoms as a control measure of STD (Rodriguez-Hart et al., 2015). Furthermore, the American medical researchers and other researchers around the world have also discovered that male circumcision can reduce STD to the young males and their partners (Miller, 2015). The findings also indicated that the circumcision process may prevent the transmission of genital human papillomavirus (Mattei et al., 2012).
Moreover, medical researchers use different methods to examine or analyze STDs (Patrick et al., 2015). They suggest that people have a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) test by investigating their age and sexual habits. For instance, medical experts advise young and sexually active women to perform annual STI tests. People who have unprotected sex with multiple partners may suffer from gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and other infections. However, STI screening tests can help health practitioners to identify these diseases at the initial stage. Furthermore, medical researchers examine the patients’ urine and sexual organs to identify the infections. They place swab and other instruments inside the penis or cervix to diagnose the type of STD. In addition, there are specific designed tests for complex STDs such as HIV, Hepatitis A, B, and C, and syphilis. Moreover, the Hepatitis A and B screening methods and vaccines help patients to get relief from STD infections (Rodriguez-Hart et al., 2015).
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Sampling Procedure
Sampling procedures are used to help the researchers to identify the subjects or participants that meet the criteria set. For studying STDs, the researcher collects the samples from participants who are suspected of having the STD. Among the samples collected to be used in the laboratory for testing include, urine and blood. The aim is to analyze them for any type of bacterial and viral infection which might denote the status of the participant with regard to STD. As the sample in this study involve human beings, an important aspect to consider is the ethical practice for using human beings. It is more important because it also touches on the health and privacy of the participants. Thus, anonymity and privacy of the participants must be upheld. The focus is to identify any form of STD but not the identity of the patient (Mattei, Beachkofsky, Gilson & Wisco, 2012). Mundane characteristics such as age and gender may be revealed during sampling and analysis just to have a clear demographic about the characteristics of the people who are affected by STD in a general population
Instruments and Examinations
Medical professionals use various instruments and examination procedures to diagnose STDs. Antibiotic vaccines can control these infections (Hobbs et al., 2014). Additionally, the CDC scientists use swab to collect the discharged fluid from the patients’ different organs. After this process, analysts used antibodies and reagents to identify the parasites that are affecting the organ (Rodriguez-Hart et al., 2015). Furthermore, the expert, Miller suggests using Ultra Violet (UV) lights to analyze the blood, fluid, and urine (Miller, 2015). Also, currently, the advanced methods such as the use of rapid test kits are effective in diagnosing gonorrhea and syphilis in a short time (Rodriguez-Hart et al., 2015). In addition, American medical researchers have designed a medical accessory that uses micro fluidic chip and smartphone to detect HIV and syphilis. This instrument reduces the cost of STD treatment in current medical services (Mattei et al., 2012).
On the other hand, traditional medical settings initially apply diagnostic examinations to determine the main causes and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections. In this practice, the medical practitioners perform screening tests to identify pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic reactions. Furthermore, medical professionals organize for consultation sessions to understand whether the patient has engaged in sexual relationships with a single or multiple partners. Experts also take precautions to maintain the health of pregnant women and their babies. After the child is born, doctors check the baby to confirm that he/she does not have any STIs. Finally, medical counselors suggest the patients and common people to use precautions to have safer sex. Thus, examinations and counseling processes reduce STD (Mattei et al., 2012).
Personnel, Training, and Logistics
Currently, various developed and developing countries organize STD control committees that control sexually transmitted infections through training and empowerment of personnel. Medical personnel organize for seminars, workshops, and checkup camps in remote and inaccessible areas to reach people with the mission to reduce cases of these infections. For example, the CDC experts advice general population to embrace the use condoms during sexual intercourse to as a measure to reduce sexually transmitted diseases (Rodriguez-Hart et al., 2015). In some states, the prevalence rate of STDs is high because the policies and measures that have been put in place are not effective. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other American government organizations develop structures to support the effort to improve the sexual health of people in the country (Mattei et al., 2012).
Additionally, medical experts provide training to the nursing specialists and social welfare workers to organize STD control seminars. The training sessions guide social workers to improve their work when dealing with patients of sexually transmitted diseases. Furthermore, various government organizations and logistic departments offer medications and other products to control STDs. For instance, in the state of Florida, the medical board provide free condoms and STD control brochures in hospitals. Meetings are also organized by health care practitioners to discuss the issues of sexual health and treatments. Moreover, in other states around the country, medical boards provide free annual STD checkup camps for communities (Miller, 2015). These precautions, training, and STD control products help medical authorities to reduce various infections.
Demographic and Geographic Data
Demographic and geographic data shows that some specific communities and age groups have more at risk of exposure to STDs. Health reports by medical researchers of different communities’ people that belong to the diverse society, age group, ethnicity, and culture indicate that certain characteristics including sex and age group play a role in the prevalence of STDs. The researches help to identify that some neighborhood have high risk of sexually transmitted infections. For example, the research has shown that residents of in inner city areas often take part in various night events such as parties and clubbing (Workowski & Berman, 2015). The participants are college students and teenagers who are active sexually. Hence, these groups of young people may take part in sexual relationship with random partners. Additionally, the U.S. medical experts have noted that American ethnic minorities have more STD rates than the majority white groups. Part of the reasons is their poor economic and social conditions that increase the exposure to random sex. Studies have also shown that African American and Hispanic people often suffer from infections due to their poor living conditions and unprotected sexual relationships (Workowski & Berman, 2015). Therefore, people living in poor conditions may not understand the negative health effects of certain sexual activities. In addition, the remote areas may not receive medical support and healthcare services that can control sexual infections (Workowski & Berman, 2015). Thus, these situations increase infections in specific communities.
Statistics, prevention Challenges
The U.S. Government’s statistical report shows that in 2011 the majority of young black Americans faced STDs due to their unprotected sexual relationships (Hobbs et al., 2014). Additionally, these reports indicated that the minorities often suffer from HIV and syphilis due to their careless behavior. The following graph shows that Hispanic and native Hawaiian people experience high prevalence of STDs in their communities.
Implementation of Plan
The nurse practitioners can help societies to reduce STD by applying various healthcare Quality Improvement (QI) policies. They can inform communities, common people, and patients that STDs can cause serious health issues. Also, the nursing teams can organize seminars and medical camps to educate the common people that are living in remote areas. During these seminars, they discuss the sexual health issues of patients and their possible solutions. Also, the nurses can advice teenagers to take antibiotics and vaccines by following the doctors’ instructions. These precautions can prevent them from future infections. Furthermore, nurse experts can take support from Government organizations to distribute condoms and other STI prevention measures in poor communities (Miller, 2015). Thus, the nursing professionals can reduce STD in diverse communities.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, often, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) infect people during unprotected sexual intercourse. However, these infections may not have symptoms in initial stage while at severe stages of the infection, a patient may suffer from pain, skin diseases, and other health issues. STDs are communicable infections and therefore infected should take precautions to avoid infecting other people or re-infecting themselves. STDs can cause serious health problems to pregnant women and their babies. Furthermore, more than thirty types of bacteria and viruses may cause these infections. As a result, millions of patients suffer from HIV, syphilis, and chlamydia. Moreover, in various countries, medical boards use patient safety policies to reduce STDs. The organizations offer free time-to-time health checkup, condom distribution, and other educational events to teach people the health issues of unprotected sex.