A Project to Educating Teenagers on Sexual Transmitted Diseases

Answer

A Project to Educating Teenagers on Sexual Transmitted Diseases

Name:

General Purpose: To educate

Specific Purpose: To educate teenagers about sexual transmitted diseases (STDs).

Thesis Statement: Teenagers are at a great risk of contracting STDs; therefore educating them is highly emphasized.

Introduction

A Project to Educating Teenagers on Sexual Transmitted Diseases

1. Introduction
2. Attention Getter:

This project aims to educate teenagers on issues relating to STDs and to promote behavior change among the adolescents. STDs include gonorrhea, chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV), genital herpes, and syphilis, and human immunodeficiency virus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014).

1. Reason to Listen:

STDs are diseases that are passed from one person to another via sexual contact (CDC, 2014).

1. Comprehensive Statement of the Problem

Teenagers are at an increased risk of STDs and engaging in risky sexual behaviors. This is because younger people experience an increased risk of encountering intra-familial sexual incest/abuse, stranger assaults, dating violence, and non-consensual sexual encounters due to their vulnerability (Breuner et al., 2016). About half of the 20 million new cases of STIs in the U.S. per year occur among people aged 15 to 24 years (Maria et al., 2017). Similarly, the adolescent teen births and pregnancies and sexual activity has been decreasing since 1991 in the United States, with the exception to 2005 up to 2007, when there was a rise by 5% in terms of birth rates (Breuner et al., 2016). In addition, adolescent girls in the U.S. are at increased risk of sexual health problems including a range of STDs and HIV/AIDS (Widman et al., 2017). However, persons aged 15 to 25 years have suboptimal screening of STIs but they have high rates of STIs compared to the general population (Cuffe et al., 2016).

Teenagers experience a range of risks, challenges and barriers as far as STDs are concerned. A key risk is engagement in sexual activities at an early age. For example about 11% of both females and males aged 18 to 24 years tend to have experienced their first sexual intercourse before the age of 20 years (Breuner et al., 2016). Besides, teenagers who have experienced first sexual encounter before the age of 14 years and younger are likely to report that their sexual encounter was involuntary compared to those who experienced first sexual encounter at the age of 17 to 19 years (Breuner et al., 2016). The media also plays an important role. Media projections and portrayal of sexuality is a challenge in prevention of STDs in teenagers since it tends to stimulate or entice teenagers to be sexually active (Breuner et al., 2016).  Sex is increasingly being portrayed in music videos as well as mp3 music, movies, television, print, pornography, social media and the Internet (Breuner et al., 2016). Barriers to quality STD/STI prevention services include lack of money to pay, lack of insurance, discomfort with facilities, concerns about confidentiality, lack of transportation, and services that are designed for adults (Sales & DiClemente, 2010).

1. Preview of Main Points
2. First, I will discuss the available community resources for adolescents.
3. Second, I will provide a description of the selected group of teenagers.
4. Third, I will provide a justification as to why STD education for the adolescents is necessary.
5. Fourth, I will discuss the developmental and teaching/learning theories suitable for use for the group.
6. Fifth, I will discuss the planning process.
7. Lastly, I will highlight the overall teaching goals.

1. Discussion of Main Points
2. Available Community Resources
3. The adolescents have access to community-based clinics and voluntary testing and counseling centers where the youth can be tested for STDs, receive treatment and counseling services. They are effective when adolescents are motivated to know matters concerning their sexual health and treatment (CDC, 2014). However, adolescents tend to forego testing or screening for STIs due to confidentiality reasons (Cuffe et al., 2016).
4. The Coalition for Positive Sexuality is another resource: It is an online resource that offers tools and resources for teens to take care of themselves and improve their decision about sexuality, sex, and reproductive control (Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, 2019).

1. Description of the Selected Group: Teenagers

The group of interest consisted of 12 teenagers; nine females and 3 males. They are in High School, Miami Art Study. Besides, they are members of the Social Study Club.

1. Justification

Teenagers ought to receive accurate education about STDs and sexuality so as to practice healthy sexual behaviors (Breuner et al., 2019). Education would help counteract or prevent exploitative, risky, and exploitative sexual activities that may predispose teenagers to unplanned pregnancies and STIs including syphilis, Chlamydia, herpes, hepatitis, HPV, and HIV infection and AIDs (Breuner et al., 2016).

1. Developmental and Teaching/Learning Theories Used for the Group

Theory ought to be used to guide development of a given education program. The rationale is that use of theory in development of an intervention, implementation and promotion of behavior change is associated with improvement of HIV/STI risk behavior outcomes (Sales & DiClemente, 2010). Two theories were identified in this case, which are the Social cognitive theory and social learning theory. These theories are associated with successful educational programs that aim to reduce the risk of HIV/STIs among the adolescents (Sales & DiClemente, 2010).

1. The Planning Process
2. The plan for teaching teenagers is to educate teenagers about human sexual anatomy, intimate relationships, sexual reproduction, sexual activity, sexually transmitted infections, sexual orientation, abstinence, reproductive rights and responsibilities, gender identity, and contraception (Breuner et al., 2016).
3. The plan is based on the need of establishing developmentally appropriate as well as evidence-based education for teenagers about to help them make informed safe and positive choices about responsible sexual activity, healthy relationships, and their reproductive health (Breuner et al., 2016).
4. It is important to emphasize the importance of risk behavior change; which may include promotion of the use of condoms during anal or vaginal sex (Sales & DiClemente, 2010). Hence, teenagers ought to be provided with sexuality condoms and contraceptives (Breuner et al., 2019).
5. Besides, efforts should be put in place to incorporate some modeling activities, which may include how to teaching teenagers on how to initiate discussions about condom use with a sex partner and how to put on a condom correctly (Sales & DiClemente, 2010).
6. In addition, skill building exercises such as role plays of conversing with sexual partners should be put into consideration (Sales & DiClemente, 2010).
7. The ultimate outcome is to increase the adolescent’s self-efficacy when negotiating for safer sex (Sales & DiClemente, 2010).
8. Overall Teaching Goals
9. The overall goal of educating teenagers about STDs is to reduce and prevent risks of adolescent incidence of sexuality transmitted infections, HIV, and teenage pregnancies.
10. To help teenagers master age-appropriate education and skills about sexual health.

• Conclusion and Evaluation of the Teaching Experience

1. Teenagers who were involved in this project acknowledged that they will change their behaviors and inform others about what they have learned about STDs and prevention.
2. In the future, intensive behavioral counseling for the teenagers should be offered alongside STDs education for a better impact or outcomes (Breuner et al., 2016).
3. Clinicians and healthcare professionals who engage the youths who seek STI testing and treatment services in a confidential manner (Cuffe et al., 2016).
4. Education intended for preventing transmission of STDs to or among teenagers should have put more emphasis on abstinence education since abstinence is a 100% effective way for preventing STIs (Breuner et al., 2016).
5. However, behavioral counseling results in better outcomes compared to teachings on abstinence (Lee et al., 2017).
6. Future programs should tailor education programs for specific adolescent groups with the perception that adolescents are a heterogeneous mosaic rather than a homogenous group (Sales & DiClemente, 2010).
7. If I were to teach the same topic at a later date I would include behavioral counseling sessions to influence positive behavior change.
8. Besides, I would emphasize the importance of abstinence in the prevention of new cases of STDs.