eprintid: 37210
rev_number: 15
userid: 8877
dir: disk0/00/03/72/10
datestamp: 2019-09-28 23:48:11
lastmod: 2019-09-28 23:48:11
status_changed: 2019-09-28 23:48:11
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
eprint_status: archive
creators_name: Ortiz, Marianna
creators_email: ortiz.marianna@gmail.com
creators_id: mao92
contributors_type: committee_chair
contributors_type: committee_member
contributors_type: committee_member
contributors_name: Krier, Sarah
contributors_name: Chen, Yue
contributors_name: Salter, Cynthia
contributors_email: sek29@pitt.edu
contributors_email: cheny@pitt.edu
contributors_email: cys6@pitt.edu
title: Interventions to prevent sexually transmitted infections in university settings in the US; a literature review
ispublished: unpub
divisions: sch_gsph_infectiousdiseasesmicrobiology
full_text_status: public
abstract: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) have increased within the past four years in the United States according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2018, it was reported that the United States had 2.3 million cases of sexually transmitted infections diagnosed in the previous year according to preliminary CDC data. Half of these cases are among young adults between the ages of 15 and 24, making university students a high-risk population. This literature review examines STI prevention interventions in university settings in the United States over the past ten years (2009-2019) and seeks to provide recommendations for future public health STI prevention interventions in university settings aiming to reduce rates of STI transmission. A total of eighteen articles were included that met the appropriate parameters for analysis and the data evaluated from this literature review highlight several key themes in intervention design and implementation. First, the majority of STI prevention interventions in this review focus on preventing human papilloma virus (HPV) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) primarily among college-age men. The interventions described in this literature review employ a variety of approaches, including in-person education to increase HPV vaccine uptake and HIV testing, campaigns across campus and online forums to promote HIV testing and increase STI education, personalized text messages to promote testing, and tailored websites to reduce risk reduction behaviors and promote safe sex practices.  Barriers to STI prevention intervention efforts in university settings are also identified and include college student knowledge about STI’s, including perceptions, beliefs, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. This literature review points to the need for universities to de-stigmatize STI testing among both male and female students through campus media campaigns, tailored educational resources, and through opportunities to engage with trained medical professionals and peer health advocates in classroom-settings and through the promotion sexual health and testing at every medical visit in campus medical centers.
date: 2019-08-06
date_type: submitted
pages: 44
institution: University of Pittsburgh
refereed: TRUE
thesis_type: masteressay
degree: MPH
citation:   Ortiz, Marianna  (2019) Interventions to prevent sexually transmitted infections in university settings in the US; a literature review.  Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.   
document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/37210/1/OrtizMarianna_LiteratureReview_MPH_August2019.pdf