Evidence Synthesis and Tables

PRACTICE PROBLEM 4

Practice Issues in STD’s Prevention and Treatment

I'm collaborating with a clinic specializing in the prevention and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and I want to focus my project on the problems of this clinic. At the practicum location, I had the opportunity to speak with relevant stakeholders and decision-makers. They revealed that they are having issues affecting the health outcomes of preventative and treatment activities. Despite the multiple calls and all the efforts done by the clinical personnel, the patients' follow-up continues to be a significant issue. It is common to find that some patients don’t return to the clinic for continued care until they have new symptoms or problems. According to the stakeholders, most of the patients are more focused on the STDs test and treatment and are less interested in the prevention behavior modification initiatives. After the discussion, I proposed that all clinical personnel be better trained on techniques to promote and implement community awareness and educational initiatives. Also is necessary to work directly on the education, screening, treatment, and prevention of susceptible populations, like the homeless, drug users, people with high-risk sexual behavior, and uninsured patients. More money is required for these activities, which will necessitate the involvement of the government and other supportive organizations (Kantor et al., 2020). Therefore, we must focus on sourcing funds before the implementation.

PICOT Question: Do young adults with high-risk sexual behavior who start HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and sexual education program, compared with young adults not in the program, improve sexual behavior within the eight weeks of initiating treatment?

Population- Young adults with high-risk sexual behavior.

Intervention- HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and sexual education programs

Comparison- Young adults who are not in this program

Outcome-improved sexual behavior

Time- eight weeks.

Translation science model: knowledge to action

My current priority is to educate the vulnerable populations on the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases so that less effort and resources will be required for treatment interventions. The education programs will challenge the population members to undergo screening and take all the necessary precautions to prevent new infections (Moton & Tawk, 2019). I feel I have the backing of the practicum site decision-makers since they are genuinely concerned about the health of our community and are open to new ideas that can improve the clinic's outcome and reputation. I had previously worked with them and found their help to be excellent.

References

Moton, B., & Tawk, R. (2019). The relationship of sexual health education and sexual health risk behavioral outcomes among Florida teens. Florida Public Health Review, 13(1), 1.

https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/fphr/vol13/iss1/1/

Kantor, L., Levitz, N., & Holstrom, A. (2020). Support for sex education and teenage pregnancy prevention programs in the USA: results from a national survey of likely voters. Sex Education, 20(3), 239-251.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2019.1652807