Ignorance is Blitzed

Michael Quirk

11/6/12

JOUR 271

Oxford STD's

628 Words

Ignorance is Blitzed

        OXFORD, Miss. - As the nurse practitioner at the University of Mississippi, Barbara Collier has seem countless cases of sexually transmitted diseases from college students. What is the reason for so many cases of preventable diseases? Is it because the students are not aware of the diseases? No, says Collier. It is because they simply do not care.

         “Most of the students that enroll here have been made aware of STD’s before. They are aware that they are supposed to use protection, but they do not practice it.”

         Who Carries Them

         According to Collier, 85 percent of sexually active adults have had at least one STD in their lifetime. When it comes to students at Ole Miss, she sees a lot more young students (freshmen and sophomores) with diseases than she does older students.

         The American Journal of Health Studies conducted surveys with 24,963 college students regarding their social lives, ranging anywhere from grade point average to condom use. The study found that students who use drugs, alcohol, or are in a sexually abusive relationship are at higher risk of contracting an STD.

         Women who are on birth control are at higher risk of contracting a disease than women who are not. This is because women who are on birth control are far less likely to use condoms than women who are not. This is because they tend to see pregnancy as the worst outcome of unprotected sex, leaving them vulnerable. Only 47 percent of students used condoms the last time that they had vaginal intercourse.

         Awareness

         I spoke to a University of Mississippi male student who contracted Chlamydia least year. The male is a fifth-year Business major who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the problem will be referred to as Jeff for the purposes of this article. Jeff told me that he was aware of STD’s from sexual education classes in high school as well as pamphlets he curiously flipped through in the Ole Miss Health Center.

         Jeff said that while he was aware of the risks, most of his sexual encounters occurred after he drank alcohol, a time when he was not considering those risks.

         “I was aware of the risks, but when you’re drunk and going home with someone, that’s the last thing on your mind.”

         Out of the women interview in the survey, 99 percent knew that STD’s are spread through sexual intercourse. While that awareness is high, 60 percent of women did not know that they are more susceptible to contracting an STD than men and 35 percent did not know that some STD’s could be spread without even having intercourse.

         Where To Go From Here

         Lisa A. Jeffers, a nurse practitioner from the Atlantic General Wound Center in Berlin, Md. said that the first step is to increase awareness to all health care providers about risks all the way up to geriatric patients.

         When it comes to younger students, Collier believes that the first step is for everyone to get tested, no matter how many sexual encounters you have had.

         The health center at Ole Miss offers one-on-one education about STD’s as well as screening. They also use health promotions to raise awareness about getting tested, including putting signs in the Hotty Toddy Potties on football weekends.

         Jeff said that the STD changed his sex life forever. He now uses protection whenever he has intercourse and is more selective in his partners. Even those measures might not be enough to prevent an STD however.

         When asked what she wants to do to raise awareness to Ole Miss students, Collier laughed and said, “I would put up as big of a billboard as I could find.”

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CQ Researcher

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Alt Health Watch

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Health Source, Nursing and Nutrition

Barbara Collier

662-915-5284

Anonymous Source

Urgent Care Clinic of Oxford

662-234-1090