Safe Sex and Elderly
Posted by on April 6, 2015 - 9:51am

National STD Awareness Month is not just a reminder for young folks.   Older adults, including senior citizens,  need to pay attention to the messages.  According to the CDC, between 2007 and 2011, chlamydia cases among Americans 65 and older increased 31% and for syphilis 52%.  These percentages are similar to those in the 20- to 24- age group. 

According to the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, among people over 60, more than half the men and 40% of women are sexually active.   Even though pregnancy risk is unlikely in this population, this age group could still harbor and pass on an untreated STD.  Many seniors also grew up before the "safe sex" messaging about condoms took hold and thus their use is lower.

There are several reasons why older adults may be more susceptible or in danger from STDs than younger adults:

  • Lack of regular screening for STDs
  • Menopausal changes in women can lead to less lubrication and thinning of tissues making them more susceptible to infections
  • Less condom use
  • Reduction in immune response in older people.

Social factors that are driving the increase of sexual activity in older adults, and increased exposure to STDs,  include longer healthier lives, new medications like Viagra, and the rise in active retirement living communities where socialization is encouraged.    

April is STD Awareness Month.
Posted by on April 1, 2015 - 8:16am

 Know the facts! GYT: Get Yourself Tested

False assumptions about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)—how they're spread, treated, and prevented—are everywhere and it can be especially hard for people to get the facts. Here are five you need to know:

  • You can't tell someone has an STD just by looking at them.
  • STD tests aren't always a part of a regular doctor visit.
  • Almost all STDs that can be spread via unprotected vaginal sex can also be spread through unprotected oral and anal sex.
  • Using a condom can take a lot of the worry out of sex, since it can prevent unintended pregnancy and protect you from STDs.
  • STD testing is a basic part of staying healthy.

Because half of the estimated 20 million STDs that occur in the United States each year are among young people, STD Awareness Month 2015 is focused on this population. This month-long observance provides an opportunity to clear up misperceptions about STD prevention and testing, and confront the unique challenges that young people face when it comes to preventing these infections.

To learn more:  Visit HERE.

Midwives are Integral Part of Greater Access to Women's Health Care
Posted by on November 6, 2012 - 11:23am

While the country struggles to provide affordable, quality health care to all Americans, a primary focus has been on women and children. However, one group of care providers is rarely discussed by health policymakers despite their significant contributions to health care: Midwives.

Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) provide high quality primary and maternity care to women and families. CNMs are recognized under federal law as primary care providers for women. They provide family planning services, gynecology services, primary care, childbirth and postpartum care, care of children for the first 28 days of life, and treatment of male partners for sexually transmitted infections. Midwives also use their credentials to prescribe medication, admit, manage and discharge patients, and interpret laboratory and diagnostic tests. These skills allow midwives to offset many of the primary and maternal care functions of MDs, and do so with lower costs.

The Institute of Medicine published in its report The Future of Nursing that critical workforce shortages are being seen across all health care systems, especially in primary and maternity care. There is a vast amount of literature that suggests CNM and CM professionals provide a high-value, cost-effective, patient-centered form of care in exactly those arenas. As 2014 and greater implementation of the Affordable Care Act nears, access to midwives is ever increasing, with the Affordable Care Act granting midwives 100% reimbursement under Medicare Part B. Further, new nondiscrimination requirements have been employed to ensure that individual and group health insurance plans must cover these services for women.

Nevertheless, many stakeholders including clinicians and policymakers are unaware of or fail to discuss the significant role midwives will play in health reform. Nor are they adequately addressing how barriers to their practicing medicine continue to play out in the medical world. It’s about time we make sure all women’s preventative and maternal services are given full attention and made effective.

HPV vaccine does not promote sexual activity
Posted by on January 9, 2012 - 4:59pm

Despite some assumptions to the contrary, young women who receive recommended vaccinations to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and associated cancers do not engage in more sexually risky behavior. That is the cautious determination of a national study by The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Lead study author Nicole C. Liddon, Ph.D. advised against drawing too broad a conclusion from the study, while explaining the motivation behind it.

“Because of perceived risk that young women would behave recklessly, parents, providers, policy-makers and other STD opponents raised concerns when the FDA first licensed and approved the HPV vaccine in 2006,” said Liddon. “It was clear that we needed to determine whether a relationship existed between being vaccinated against a sexually-transmitted disease and sexual behavior.”

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. with an estimated 6.2 million new infections annually, according to the study. The disease is linked to various cancers, including cervical and oral.   The authors obtained data from more than 1,200 women ages 15 to 24 years, interviewed as part of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), including demographic and insurance information as well as specific information about sexual education and behaviors and receipt of the HPV vaccine. Age at vaccination was not available, making it uncertain whether HPV vaccination came before or after the start of sexual behaviors.

The researchers found no differences in sexual experience between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Interestingly, among sexually active young women ages 15 to 19, those who had received the vaccine were more likely to report always using a condom in the past four weeks than those who had not received the vaccine.

“The study helps us answer a question that has captured the imagination of millions of Americans: Does HPV vaccine cause teen girls to have sex earlier or more often?” said Noel T. Brewer, associate professor of the department of health behavior and health education at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “Liddon and her colleagues clearly show that the vaccine does not promote sexual disinhibition,” Brewer continued. “These data are only a preliminary answer to the question as they are from a cross-sectional study of girls’ and women’s self-reports of vaccination. However, the study offers us some of the only data on how HPV vaccine affects behavior.”

Liddon concurred, adding that “the lack of association between vaccination and risky behavior should help assuage concerns between disinhibition and the HPV vaccine. At the same time, we stress this isn’t a definitive answer as to whether or not a relationship exists. Further studies are needed to look at possible causality.”

Source:  Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health

Liddon, N.C., Leichliter, J.S., Markowitz, L.E. (2011). Human Papillomavirus Vaccine and Sexual Behavior Among Adolescent and Young Women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine