Adolescents and sexually transmitted diseases

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their sequelae are very important problems in the adolescent population. There are 3 million adolescents that contract STDs each year (Donovan, 1997).

The purpose of this study was to determine if primary care providers are counseling adolescents about STDs. The study is a quantitative descriptive study in rural northwestern Pennsylvania. It consisted of six demographic questions and 37 yes and no questions to determine the percentage of PCPs (a) providing adequate STD counseling, (b) performing adequate risk assessments, (c) using adequate interaction skills, and (d) who indicated they cover the topics risk of contracting a STD and sexual abstinence for prevention.

Forty eight questionnaires were mailed to primary care providers, 23 were returned, and 17 were entered into the study. Fifty nine percent of the subjects counseled. Nearly the same percentage of males and females counseled. PCPs aged 41-50, in practice 11-15 years, and were nurse practitioners did the most counseling. PCPs aged 31 to 40, in practice six to 10 years, and were a pediatrician did the least amount of counseling. All primary care providers who counseled (a) performed adequate risk assessments, (b) adequately discussed the risk reduction topics, and (c) covered the risk reduction topics entitled risk of contracting an STD and sexual abstinence for prevention. All primary care providers used adequate interaction skills.