Open AccessReport From the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine—STI: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm—A Synopsis for Sexually Transmitted Infection Practitioners, Clinicians, and Researchers
Author(s) -
Cornelis A. Rietmeijer,
Patricia Kissinger,
Vincent GuilamoRamos,
Charlotte A. Gaydos,
Edward W. Hook,
Andrew M. Mead,
Sophie Xin Yang,
Amy Geller,
Sten H. Vermund
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
sexually transmitted diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.507
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1537-4521
pISSN - 0148-5717
DOI - 10.1097/olq.0000000000001552
Subject(s) - medicine , outreach , reproductive health , public health , call to action , gonorrhea , accountability , sexually transmitted disease , paradigm shift , intervention (counseling) , family medicine , medical education , public relations , nursing , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , environmental health , population , political science , philosophy , syphilis , marketing , epistemology , law , business
Despite decades of medical, diagnostic, and public health advances related to diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), rates of reportable STIs continue to grow. A 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on the current state of STI management and prevention in the United States, entitled Sexually Transmitted Infections: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm, offers recommendations on future public health programs, policy, and research. This new report builds upon the 1997 Institute of Medicine report, The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and provides 11 recommendations organized under 4 action areas: (1) adopt a sexual health paradigm, (2) broaden ownership and accountability for responding to STIs, (3) bolster existing systems and programs for responding to STIs, and (4) embrace innovation and policy change to improve sexual health. We present our interpretive synopsis of this report, highlighting elements of particular interest to STI and sexual health practitioners, including clinicians, researchers, disease intervention specialists, community outreach workers, and public health staff. The report asserts that it is possible to create a healthier and more equitable future where fewer adolescents and adults are infected, fewer babies are born with STIs, and people entering their sexual debut and continuing throughout the life span are taught the language and skills to conceptualize and enact their own vision for what it means to be sexually healthy.