Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in College Students

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a major challenge amongst college students internationally. Many colleges host STI awareness booths to inform its constituents of the acute and chronic conditions associated with STIs. Yet, occurrence of STIs is still a major problem. (Park, 2016). Therefore, the purpose of this pilot literature review is to examine the existing research which address the prevalence and preventive measures of STIs in college aged individuals. A literature review was conducted utilizing EBSCOhost CINAHL full text database using keywords “college students” and “sexually transmitted diseases/infections.” Approximately 300 articles were yielded from the initial search. As the search was refined, limitations such as age and year of publication were added. Six articles met the inclusion criteria. Findings from this review revealed college students lack the proper knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and prevention methods (Alexander & Thornton, 2015; Wilkerson, et al. 2014). Additionally, education by health care providers was a missed intervention in the understanding of STI prevention (Wilkerson, et al. 2014), and the literature reviewed did not fully explore the prevalence of STIs in Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students who identify as LGBT will better help nurses and healthcare providers to address this major health concern. It was found that education by health care providers was a missed intervention in the understanding of STI prevention. Further research which answer the following questions would enhance the existing literature and provide nursing educators
and practitioners with the information to improve health outcomes: 1) What is the prevalence of STIs in women who engage in sexual encounters with other women? 2)What is the occurrence and rate of STIs in nontraditional college students? 3)What is the prevalence of STIs in college aged individuals who identify as LGBTQ? and 4) What is the effect of education intervention on HPV and other STIs on males in college?