| From: |
Adeyemo Gabriel [ profile ] |
| Subject: |
Free in-home kits help encourage STD testing in young people
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| Sent: |
Mar 3rd, 2011 - 13:47:20 |
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Source:* Baltimore Sun*
AUTHOR: Meredith Cohn
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-02-21/specialsection/bs-hs-std-testing-20110221_1_std-testing-gonorrhea-and-chl...
My Fellow Advocate
Up to half of sexually active young people will get a sexually transmitted
disease by the time they are 25, yet many don't seek testing because it may
be difficult, costly or embarrassing. Public health officials nationally and
in particularly affected cities like Baltimore, however, say they've found a
method that seems to address the major hurdles a website that supplies
free in-home testing kits for three of the most commonly reported STDs. "The
highest prevalence is in young adults, and we knew we had to reach these
kids," said Charlotte A. Gaydos, a professor of infectious diseases at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore. "They were always on the Internet, and now,
on their smart phones. They weren't going to ask their mothers to take them
to a clinic."
Gaydos helped develop the program called "I Want the Kit," and its website,
(iwantthekit.org), which now serves primarily teens and young adults in
Maryland, Washington, West Virginia, parts of Illinois, and in Denver and
Philadelphia. It's one of many locally and nationally to try to reach this
population, but public health officials say its ease and anonymity make it
especially attractive. STD experts say other effective testing and treatment
efforts involve in-school clinics and a program called "Expedited Partner
Therapy," which allows those who test positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia to
take home antibiotics for up to three partners. Also helping get the word
out is a campaign called GYT, which stands for Get Yourself Talking, Get
Yourself Tested, and taps MTV to encourage discussion and screening.
The direct impact of these programs so far on infection rates isn't known --
the Hopkins program has only been operating since 2004 and other programs
are newer. And results on the three diseases for which the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention collects the most data are mixed: Gonorrhea
cases are at the lowest level on record; chlamydia cases are up, but
officials believe this is because of expanded testing; and syphilis cases
are trending up after hitting a low in 2000. But I Want the Kit and others
hold promise in increasing testing and spreading information about STDs and
their consequences, said Dr. Charlotte Kent, a branch chief in the CDC's
Division of STD Prevention. Gonorrhea and chlamydia can cause infertility
and chronic pain. Syphilis can cause malformation and death in babies, as
well as heart disease, blindness and neurological problems.
More information when you click on the link above
--
Many Thanks
Yours' in Prevention Science
Adeyemo Damilare Gabriel
Moderator: Students' for Microbicides (S4M), Nigeria
Regional Focal Point - West Africa
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AID
+234-80-6798-7317 | gabriel (at) gyca.org
www.gyca.org | www.tigweb.org
GYCA is a youth-led global network of more than 4,500 young leaders and
adult allies working on youth and HIV/AIDS in 150 countries world-wide.
GYCA's mission is to empower young leaders with the skills, knowledge,
resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions
amongst their peers.
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