Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Low Knowledge, Awareness, and Availability of Sexual Health Services: An Assessment of a Diverse North Dallas
Drew A Beckman, Edgar Gonzalez1, Bendu Coleman1
1Community Prevention and Intervention Unit, Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
Background:
Sexually transmitted infection (STI) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rates have been growing nationwide without adequate resources for treatment and prevention. Barriers to access need to be identified and rectified to reach affected populations.
Methods:
An exploratory community assessment using a purposive sample in an underserved community in Dallas, Texas, was conducted to gain insight into perceptions of existing access, barriers, and cultural norms in addition to preferences for sexual health services in the area (n = 100). Results were compiled using descriptive statistics.
Results:
Our respondents came from priority populations with high HIV/STI prevalence including Black individuals, Latinx individuals, and men who have sex with men. Most participants said they would feel comfortable accessing sexual health services in a medical building (95%), mobile clinic (91%), office building (76%), or pharmacy (74%). Half preferred a closer clinic compared with 2% who preferred farther away. Wide lack of awareness of sexual health services was cited as the primary barrier by 57%. Participants were most interested in having STI (92%) and HIV (91%) testing/treatment offered with very few expressing interest in preexposure prophylaxis (24%), nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (4%), or doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (3%), suggesting low knowledge about these options. Furthermore, Black individuals felt more comfortable than Latinx individuals when discussing sexual health with peers/friends, sex partners, and health care providers.
Conclusions:
Many ethnic and sexual minorities disproportionately affected by these epidemics lack access to sexual health services in their communities. Local community assessments like this can serve as a model for others seeking to expand sexual health services to address the growing HIV and STI syndemics.
More Related Videos
05:04Author Spotlight: Evaluating Clinicians' Adoption of Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Cannulation Through Simulation Training
Published on: August 9, 2024
09:55Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
Related Concept Videos
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...
01:21Health Literacy
01:21Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-I
Daycare centers
They provide several functions. Some facilities care for healthy newborns and children whose parents work, while others are medically focused and care for...
02:16Surveys
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...