The Hidden Epidemic
The Hidden Epidemic

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-03-28

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 030917547X

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The United States has the dubious distinction of leading the industrialized world in overall rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), with 12 million new cases annually. About 3 million teenagers contract an STD each year, and many will have long-term health problems as a result. Women and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to these diseases and their health consequences. In addition, STDs increase the risk of HIV transmission. The Hidden Epidemic examines the scope of sexually transmitted infections in the United States and provides a critical assessment of the nation's response to this public health crisis. The book identifies the components of an effective national STD prevention and control strategy and provides direction for an appropriate response to the epidemic. Recommendations for improving public awareness and education, reaching women and adolescents, integrating public health programs, training health care professionals, modifying messages from the mass media, and supporting future research are included. The book documents the epidemiological dimensions and the economic and social costs of STDs, describing them as "a secret epidemic" with tremendous consequences. The committee frankly discusses the confusing and often hypocritical nature of how Americans deal with issues regarding sexualityâ€"the conflicting messages conveyed in the mass media, the reluctance to promote condom use, the controversy over sex education for teenagers, and the issue of personal blame. The Hidden Epidemic identifies key elements of effective, culturally appropriate programs to promote healthy behavior by adolescents and adults. It examines the problem of fragmentation in STD services and provides examples of communities that have formed partnerships between stakeholders to develop integrated approaches. The committee's recommendations provide a practical foundation on which to build an integrated national program to help young people and adults develop habits of healthy sexuality. The Hidden Epidemic was written for both health care professionals and people without a medical background and will be indispensable to anyone concerned about preventing and controlling STDs.

Sexually Transmitted Infections
Sexually Transmitted Infections

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher:

Published: 2021-12-24

Total Pages: 750

ISBN-13: 9780309683951

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One in five people in the United States had a sexually transmitted infection (STI) on any given day in 2018, totaling nearly 68 million estimated infections. STIs are often asymptomatic (especially in women) and are therefore often undiagnosed and unreported. Untreated STIs can have severe health consequences, including chronic pelvic pain, infertility, miscarriage or newborn death, and increased risk of HIV infection, genital and oral cancers, neurological and rheumatological effects. In light of this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through the National Association of County and City Health Officials, commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to examine the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections in the United States and provide recommendations for action. In 1997, the Institute of Medicine released a report, The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Although significant scientific advances have been made since that time, many of the problems and barriers described in that report persist today; STIs remain an underfunded and comparatively neglected field of public health practice and research. The committee reviewed the current state of STIs in the United States, and the resulting report, Sexually Transmitted Infections: Advancing a Sexual Health Paradigm, provides advice on future public health programs, policy, and research.

Preventing and Mitigating AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
Preventing and Mitigating AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on Data and Research Priorities for Arresting AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Publisher: National Academies

Published: 1996-01-01

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13:

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The AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to affect all facets of life throughout the subcontinent. Deaths related to AIDS have driven down the life expectancy rate of residents in Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda with far-reaching implications. This book details the current state of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and what is known about the behaviors that contribute to the transmission of the HIV infection. It lays out what research is needed and what is necessary to design more effective prevention programs.

Preventing HIV Transmission
Preventing HIV Transmission

Author: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1995-09-14

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0309176212

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This volume addresses the interface of two major national problems: the epidemic of HIV-AIDS and the widespread use of illegal injection drugs. Should communities have the option of giving drug users sterile needles or bleach for cleaning needs in order to reduce the spread of HIV? Does needle distribution worsen the drug problem, as opponents of such programs argue? Do they reduce the spread of other serious diseases, such as hepatitis? Do they result in more used needles being carelessly discarded in the community? The panel takes a critical look at the available data on needle exchange and bleach distribution programs, reaches conclusions about their efficacy, and offers concrete recommendations for public policy to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. The book includes current knowledge about the epidemiologies of HIV/AIDS and injection drug use; characteristics of needle exchange and bleach distribution programs and views on those programs from diverse community groups; and a discussion of laws designed to control possession of needles, their impact on needle sharing among injection drug users, and their implications for needle exchange programs.

Annual Review of Nursing Research, Volume 25, 2007
Annual Review of Nursing Research, Volume 25, 2007

Author:

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

Published: 2007-06-11

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0826141390

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This 25th anniversary edition of the Annual Review of Nursing Research is focused on nursing science in vulnerable populations. Identified as a priority in the nursing discipline, vulnerable populations are discussed in terms of the development of nursing science, diverse approaches in building the state of the science research, integrating biologic methods in the research, and research in reducing health disparities. Topics include: Measurement issues Prevention of infectious diseases among vulnerable populations Genomics and proteomics methodologies for research Promoting culturally appropriate interventions Community-academic research partnerships with vulnerable populations Vulnerable populations in Thailand: women living with HIV/AIDS As in all volumes of the Annual Reviews, leading nurse researchers provide students, other researchers, and clinicians with the foundations for evidence-based practice and further research.