Sexually transmitted disease prevention services for female chronically mentally ill patients

Chronically and variably impaired autonomy makes women with chronic mental illness particularly vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including AIDS. A lack of female controlled protective devices also adds to the vulnerability of these patients. In this context, the authors make recommendations for the design of clinically comprehensive and ethically justified programs to minimize the risk of mentally ill women for STDs. When female chronically mentally ill patients are at risk of STDs, barriers to the exercise of their autonomy must be identified and clinically treated. Preventive clinical interventions can also be usefully augmented by educational strategies and facilitate patients' communication and behavioral skills, particularly in order to enable them to abstain from unwanted sex or to make prospective male partners wear a condom. Outreach efforts to the male partners of female patients and to the homeless mentally ill may also be required. Preventive services could be integrated and coordinated with STD clinics, substance abuse treatment programs and family planning programs.