If I Knew...: De-as sti…

Since then the number in this jurisdiction has increased significantly. Sexually transmitted infections are a fact of life. They are things people would rather not have.

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Some are incurable but most, including HIV and herpes, are treatable and manageable. Criminalising people who have taken as much care as they are able to prevent onward transmission but are still treated in law as having been reckless does nothing to reinforce the message that we should take responsibility both for our own sexual health, as well as that of others.

It does precisely the converse, and that is surely a bad and unhelpful thing. Sentencing Golding to 14 months in jail, the judge said: Topics Sexual health Opinion.

Health Crime Sex comment. Order by newest oldest recommendations. The majority of the studies also reported the individual questions posed to assess the given outcomes. The remaining two studies had participation rates of For syphilis, gonorrhoea and herpes, only awareness was assessed in four studies [ 37 , 38 , 42 , 47 ]. The reported awareness of HPV among the surveyed adolescents was generally low identification from given list , ranging from 5.

In the two studies which also reported results for females and males separately, awareness was observed to be statistically significantly higher among females than among males: Awareness of the HPV vaccine was also very low, with 5. A minority of adolescents knew that HPV is a risk factor for cervical cancer: Among the adolescents who participated in the survey by Pelucchi et al.

Among female adolescents who participated in the study by Gottvall et al. The latter study surveyed pupils aged years but did not report on age differences in awareness. Three studies reported on awareness of condylomata, genital warts which are caused by the human papilloma virus.

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The third study mentioned that awareness of condylomata was lower than that for chlamydia without stating the corresponding figures [ 40 ]. In one study where the open question "Which STDs do you know or have you heard of? Awareness and knowledge of STDs reported in 14 of the 15 studies included in the review. In the studies where this was asked, a large majority of the adolescents knew that HIV is caused by a virus, [ 36 , 41 ] is sexually transmitted,[ 36 , 41 , 43 , 47 , 49 ] and that sharing a needle with an infected person may lead to infection with the virus [ 36 , 41 , 43 , 49 ].

Statistically significant age specific differences in knowledge on mode of HIV-transmission were reported in the study conducted in Germany [ 49 ]. Compared to 13 and 15 year old pupils, a higher proportion of 14 year old pupils correctly identified the level of risk of HIV-transmission associated with bleeding wounds, intravenous drug use and sexual contact.

For the latter mode of transmission, the lowest proportion of correct answers was observed among 16 year old pupils. The only exception was in the Russian study conducted by Lunin et al. In the two studies which reported on awareness among boys and girls separately, girls were observed to have higher awareness proportions than boys [ 38 , 42 ].

While the observation was not statistically significant in one of the studies, [ 27 ] this was not reported on in the other study [ 38 ]. Not many adolescents knew that chlamydia can be symptom-free: In one Swedish study where the level of knowledge in the same study population was assessed at age 16 and 18, a statistically significant increase in knowledge was observed over time [ 40 ]. Only the Finish study reported on the subjective rating of risk of contracting chlamydia. In the latter, the difference between year 9 and year 11 pupils was more pronounced among boys: A statistically significant increase in knowledge over time was observed in a group of girls surveyed at age 16 and 18 [ 40 ].

In the Tyden et al. Five of the studies reviewed assessed the knowledge of participating adolescents on STDs in general. In the England study, all in all Among girls, knowledge was higher among year 11 than year 9 pupils, while the opposite was true for boys. The proportion of boys in year 9 who knew this fact In two Swedish studies by Tyden et al. These changes were not statistically significant [ 37 ]. Use of condoms by sexually active participants was assessed in three studies, all conducted in Sweden [ 38 , 46 , 47 ].

In the study by Gottvall et al. Condom use at recent coitus was reported on only in the earlier study [ 38 ]. This is certainly linked to the fact that since the mid s, extensive awareness campaigns on this topic have been conducted globally. The lowest proportions were reported for HPV, with awareness as low as 5. With only about 1 in 8 respondents knowing that HPV is an STD, awareness was still very low in one of the two studies conducted after the introduction of the HPV vaccine [ 46 ].

A higher awareness Two factors appeared to have influenced awareness. The first was of a methodological nature and related to the fact whether an open or closed question was posed.

Of the studies included in the review which assessed awareness, all but one used closed-form questions only. Only one participant 0. In comparison to open-form questions, closed questions are not only more practical and easier to respond to, but also easier to code and analyse. One of the arguments raised against closed questions, especially where a list of possible answers is given, is the risk of guesswork. It can not be ruled out that some participants, unable to answer the question, will select answers at random [ 50 , 51 ]. In the study by Garside et al.

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To a lesser extent, gender also appears to have influenced knowledge and awareness, especially for HPV [ 46 , 48 ]. Significant gender differences were observed, with females having better awareness and knowledge than males. Although the data are limited as not all studies reported results separately for males and females, these findings, could be reflective of the way awareness campaigns, for example on HPV, have been targeted more at females than at males. The studies on HIV included in our review generally reported high awareness of the protective effect of condoms among adolescents [ 36 , 41 , 43 , 47 , 49 ].

One study included in the review however observed that adolescents seem to regard condoms primarily as a method of contraception and not as a means of protection against sexually transmitted diseases In this study, 19 out of 20 female adolescents who reported more than 4 sexual partners at the age of 18 reported intercourse without a condom in relationships of less than 6 months' duration. Other studies also indicate that consistent condom use is generally low among adolescents [ 27 , 52 - 55 ]. Where reported, participation rates were generally high, probably due to the fact that the adolescents were recruited in schools.

In some instances however, the number of participants was low even though the participation rate was reported as high. In the study by Tyden et al. The one study which recruited participants per post had a very low participation rate of Nevertheless, the study had more participants than others with comparatively higher participation rates. Bias related to selective participation is an issue that needs to be considered on a study by study basis, and reporting on response proportions should be considered essential for all studies.

To our knowledge no systematic reviews of published literature on knowledge and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases among school-attending adolescents in Europe have been conducted to date. The current review confirms that there are considerable gaps in knowledge and awareness on major STDs in European adolescents. Our results underline the importance of the objectives set for adolescents' sexual and reproductive health in Europe, the first of which foresees that adolescents be informed and educated on all aspects of sexuality and reproduction [ 31 ].

We could not identify many studies on knowledge and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases among school-attending adolescents in Europe. This could be due to the fact that knowledge has been shown to have little impact on behaviour change, and prevention interventions have generally moved away from a focus on knowledge and awareness as key mediators.

Another possible reason is that schools are not always willing to participate in such studies due to competing demands of other school activities or because of the subject content [ 16 , 28 - 30 ].

Adolescents and STDs | Sexually Transmitted Diseases | CDC

One limitation of our review is that the 15 studies included did not all focus on the same sexually transmitted diseases. Furthermore, the formulation of the questions used to assess awareness and knowledge varied between studies, making it difficult to directly compare the findings of individual studies.

Another potential limiting factor is the age variation of participants in the studies included in the review, especially as all but one study did not clearly investigate the association between age and awareness or knowledge. Due to the afore-mentioned factors and the small number of studies available, it was not possible to perform a meta-analysis of the study findings. The representativeness of study participants in some studies could not be assessed as it was not mentioned how the schools were selected [ 37 , 40 - 44 , 49 ].

Different socioeconomic environments of individual schools are likely to affect results, but there is currently not sufficient information to assess this. The school setting offers an effective way to access adolescent populations universally, comprehensively and uniformly [ 56 ]. It plays an important role for sex education, especially for those adolescents with no other information sources.

Furthermore, some parents are not comfortable discussing sexual issues with their children. It therefore comes as no surprise that many young people cite the school as an important source of information about sexually transmitted diseases [ 26 , 27 ]. Although sex education is part of the school curriculum in many European countries, there are differences in the issues focused on. Generally it seems that education schedules offer a range of opportunities to raise knowledge and awareness of STD among adolescents. FSZ developed the concept for the study, conducted the literature search, assessed studies for inclusion in the review and extracted data.

She also prepared drafts and undertook edits. LS was involved in the development of the study concept, conducted the literature search, assessed studies for inclusion in the review and extracted data.

Associated Data

HZ was involved in the development of the study concept. All authors contributed to the editing of the drafts and have read and approved all versions of the manuscript. The preparation process for the systematic review is documented in the file. For example, if left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can make it difficult—or even impossible—for a woman to get pregnant.

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Although it may be uncomfortable to talk about your STD, open and honest conversation can help your partner make informed decisions to protect his or her health. If you have questions, talk to a parent or other trusted adult. After all, they were young once, too. Ask which STD tests and vaccines they recommend for you. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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