Education program helped combat rising STI rates in Saskatoon
Education is the best way to combat rising sexually transmitted infection numbers in Saskatoon but a unique program at the Sexual Health Centre has lost its funding.
The Saskatoon Health Region Monday provided reported rising cases of STIs, with a notable spike in cases of gonorrhea and syphilis. The health region said it is a sign that condoms are being overlooked and pointed to an increasing trend of online hookups stemming from social media and dating applications.
“There is nobody else providing education on birth control and unplanned pregnancies and healthy relationships in the context the context of sexual activity in the community of Saskatoon,” Evelyn Reiser, executive director of the Sexual Health Centre, said.
Resier said AIDS Saskatoon provides education on AIDS and Hepatitis C and the Avenue Community Centre provides education on queer sexual health but the Sexual Health Centre spoke generally and visited organizations, groups, schools and events based on request. The health region’s sexual health program has put together a binder of information and shared it with the school boards for teachers to use. The program is targeted at 15 to 24 year olds.
The education program at the centre began in 2008 and its funding from the United Way was not renewed this year after the organization chose to support a different program.
“Everybody has that idea that it won’t happen to me. It happens to other people,” Reiser said. She suggests people get tested for STIs every new sexual partner or every year, whichever comes first.
There are many barriers to people not using a condom. They can be expensive, some people are embarrassed to buy them, or people engage in unplanned sexual activity and they are not carrying a condom with them. Reiser said their education program discussed not only the importance of using a condom during sex but also safe storage practices. Those include storing the condom in a dry place, away from light and not in your back pocket, wallet or car.
Reiser said many people are uneducated about STIs and don’t know they can be present without any symptoms.
“They think they would know if they have something or they would know if their partner had something,” she said.
The rise in social media hookup sites like Tinder is adding to the spread.
“Social media appeared as a kind of new phenomenon as to how they contacted them,” Reiser said after discussing the topic with her clinic’s nurse.
When someone tests positive for an STI, the clinic takes information on how the infection was contacted. Social media continues to pop up as a factor.
Education programs like the one that discontinued at the centre are central to empowering young people to make healthy decisions around their sexual practices. Reiser said a lot of studies from Europe show that the more information young people have around sexual health, the later they will engage in sexual activity.
Reiser said they have applied for a grant from the health region to continue the education program but are waiting to hear back about confirmation.
Comments are closed.