s a f e s e x h o n o r s p r o j e c t
Between the Classroom and the Doctor's Office: Improving Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Rates Through Applied Communication on the College Campus
Undergraduate research project through the Park University Degree with Honors program.
This project is in the literature review stage.
Background
Virtually every college student understands the consequences of sexually transmitted infections, and how to prevent them. But research shows only 10% of students use protection during every encounter.
This leads to the horrifying statistic that 1 in 3 young adults knowingly has, or has had, an STI. Some health agencies believe the number to be higher.
It's been concluded by public health experts that more sex education is not the answer. Young adults know what STIs are, and how to prevent them. What they don't know how to do is talk about these issues with their partners.
This leads to the horrifying statistic that 1 in 3 young adults knowingly has, or has had, an STI. Some health agencies believe the number to be higher.
It's been concluded by public health experts that more sex education is not the answer. Young adults know what STIs are, and how to prevent them. What they don't know how to do is talk about these issues with their partners.
The Questions
What are the riskiest behaviors students are engaging in?
What is preventing them from communicating with their partners about protection?
How can applied communication theory have a positive effect on sexual health?
What is preventing them from communicating with their partners about protection?
How can applied communication theory have a positive effect on sexual health?
The Method
A survey will be distributed on the campus, to determine what reasons students give for neglecting protection during their encounters, as well as which encounters are most likely to be unprotected for students (for example, sex while intoxicated, oral sex, etc).
This data will be used to create visual and written materials (such as posters and pamphlets) addressing the issues discovered in the survey. These materials will be evaluated by a focus group of students for effectiveness.
The materials that pass focus group approval will be launched as the public communication campaign, along with a schedule of awareness events.
After the campaign is completed, another survey will be distributed to determine the success of the campaign on student's habits.
