New resources to assist health care professionals with STIs

15 April 2013

New resources to assist health care professionals to overcome barriers in managing Sexually Transmitted Infections

The changing scene of sexual activity means STIs are no longer the domain of youth. They occur across all ages, from young to old. STIs have always suffered from a negative social stigma and the fact that many STIs are very common and readily treatable does not seem to diminish the negative impact for patients being told they have an STI. Research shows health professionals also find these barriers difficult to navigate, which may unwittingly lead to worse outcomes for patients.

Most people will be diagnosed with an STI sometime in their life. NZ has one of the highest rates of Chlamydia in the OECD, 80% of people will contract genital HPV and 30% will get herpes within their lifetime. The high prevalence of these infections does little to reassure a newly diagnosed patient and HPV comes with the additional fear for women that it has the ability to manifest into cervical cancer.

The Sexually Transmitted Infections Education Foundation (STIEF) in collaboration with New Zealand Sexual Health Society (NZSHS) has developed a package of information and resources that will enable you to better address sexual health issues with your patients. The pack contains concise guidelines to streamline clinical management and factual information for patients, which will assist health professionals in the management of sexual health issues.

Updated 2013 Sexual Health guidelines – A step forward

Patients diagnosed with any STI require not only optimal medical care but also emotional support to prevent psychological and psychosexual morbidity.

To help address these issues, the STIE Foundation in collaboration with the NZSHS are supplying over 6,000 Health Care Professionals with the tools that will make sexual health issues easier to deal with.

GPs, nurses and other related HCPs can expect to see their Sexual Health management packs arrive in the post soon.

The Sexually Transmitted Infections Education Foundation (STIEF) and the New Zealand Sexual Health Society share the common objective of ensuring optimal management of people with sexually transmitted infections.

The STIEF provides oversight and management of
The New Zealand Herpes Foundation
And The New Zealand HPV Project

For further information go to
www.nzshs.org.nz
www.herpes.org.nz
www.hpv.org.nz

Projects produced with funding from New Zealand District Health Boards and the Ministry of Health.

ENDS

© Scoop Media