Healthly People 2010 and STDs

BY Theresa Vana RN

Healthy People 2010 was developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services with the goal of improving the health of our nation. These objectives maybe met with disease education and disease prevention.

The Public Health Nurse is in a unique position to help achieve the objectives of Healthy People 2010 in regards to sexual behavior responsibility. There are two important objectives that must be met to help reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases(STD's).

First, adolescents must be educated about STD's. They must be taught the mode of transmission and the long term health effects of STD's. Abstinence can be one method taught as a means of prevention to exposure of the various virus and bacteria that can lead to problems like HIV, pelvic inflammatory disease, fertility problems, cervical cancer and genital warts. With an increase awareness of STD transmission and treatment options, the objective of sexual responsibility will decrease health costs and improve the health of our nations youth.

The second important way the public health nurse can help members of the community decrease their incidence of STD's is to promote use of condoms. Public Health Nurses can provide education programs that address these needs and evaluate the effectiveness of their programs by monitoring the incidence of STD's in their communities.

Reference:

About healthy people. Retrieved August 3, 2011 from: http://healthypeople.gov

Lancaster, J. & Stanhope, M. (2008) Public health nursing population-centered health care in the community. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

NOTE: This blog post reflects the work of a Registered Nurse with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The content of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.