Sexually Transmitted Infection

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rampant in the African American community. STIs affect women of AA descent at a higher rate than any other women and also at a higher rate than heterosexual men of AA descent. According to the CDC (2015), heterosexual AA women are twice likely to be affected with HIV than AA heterosexual men. This is a problem involving both gender and therefore must to be addressed across the gender spectrum. Based on the available data from multiple literatures including the ones reviewed prior, AA women are screened for STIs mostly during prenatal visit or well women visits. If education is reaching these women mostly during visits that concerns women’s health only, it can be assumed that there is a lack of screening

According to a study conducted by Montaya, Coker-Appiah, Eng et al. (2012), African American adolescent women are fearful of negotiating condom use with their partners due to potential risk of violence. Per some of the adolescents on the study, they report an increase in violence and mistrust when they ask their partners to use condom. Therefore, out of fear of being abused, or the relationship being terminated, some adolescents, despite being aware of the consequences of unsafe sex, forego the request to use safety measures. The lack of empowerment from AA women to convince their partners to practice safe sex increases the importance to reaching out to the roots of the problem, AA

Therefore, if women are not comfortable to talk about safe sex with their partners, the partners are to be educated about the risk of unsafe sex. They are to be made aware of the importance of practicing safe sex as to not only protect the woman, but also to protect themselves. In order to reach AA men, health care providers should tailor screenings and education toward men to encourage their participations by conducting education in areas frequented by AA men such as barber shops, community organizations, churches and local neighborhoods. Therefore, a community-based participatory model can be used to determine how the lack of screening and sexual education of AA men correlates to the rate of AA women with STIs. The inclusion of AA men from different background can help shed light into the problem and offer solutions. Parental as well as community leaders’ involvement in the study is paramount in order to keep the message afloat, as they have great influence in the homes as well as the communities. Montaya et al. (2012) listed some factors that increase AA women risk of STIs such as their environments, age of sexual activities, and violence. Adolescents who are raised in violent environments are more likely to be engaged in relationships with violent partners and in return having a higher rate of STIs (Montaya et al.,