Report From the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine-STI: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm-A Synopsis for Sexually Transmitted Infection Practitioners, Clinicians, and Researchers

Abstract

Despite decades of medical, diagnostic, and public health advances related to diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), rates of reportable STIs continue to grow. A 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on the current state of STI management and prevention in the United States, entitled Sexually Transmitted Infections: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm, offers recommendations on future public health programs, policy, and research. This new report builds upon the 1997 Institute of Medicine report, The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and provides 11 recommendations organized under 4 action areas: (1) adopt a sexual health paradigm, (2) broaden ownership and accountability for responding to STIs, (3) bolster existing systems and programs for responding to STIs, and (4) embrace innovation and policy change to improve sexual health. We present our interpretive synopsis of this report, highlighting elements of particular interest to STI and sexual health practitioners, including clinicians, researchers, disease intervention specialists, community outreach workers, and public health staff. The report asserts that it is possible to create a healthier and more equitable future where fewer adolescents and adults are infected, fewer babies are born with STIs, and people entering their sexual debut and continuing throughout the life span are taught the language and skills to conceptualize and enact their own vision for what it means to be sexually healthy.

Figure 1.. Modified Social Ecological Framework of Sexual Health and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Prevention, Control, and Treatment

Note: This figure illustrates the multiple interrelated influences on STI risk, prevention, health care access, delivery, and treatment across the life span. Source: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2021. Sexually Transmitted Infections: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm. https://doi.org/10.17226/25955. Reproduced with permission from the National Academy of Sciences, Courtesy of the National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.