No Scrubs Notes: Sexual Health

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What are risk taking behaviors?

Risk taking behaviours consist of (Gardner, 2020):

• Consuming alcohol or drugs prior to engaging in sexual intercourse
• Not communicating sexual status prior to sexual relations and discussing when you or your partner have last been screened for STIs
• Having unprotected oral, vaginal, or anal intercourse without use of rubber condoms, gloves, or a dental dam.
• Having multiple sexual partners
• Not getting screened on a routine basis for STIs (every 3-6 months or after every sexual relationship).

What is HIV?

• HIV infection causes progressive immunodeficiency by specifically targeting CD4+ cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. This leads to both functional impairment and destruction of target cells. Untreated seropositive patients develop a profound CD4 cytopenia (normal CD4 count in uninfected adults is >600–800 cells/μL) and dysregulation of both cellular and humoral immunity, resulting in disruption of immune homeostasis parameters (Falutz, 2016). To break this down into simple terms, the article pretty much is stating that the virus attacks the body’s immune system and if not treated it can lead to AIDS which stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

What resources are available for the community?

• There are multiple resources available that can be used. To be specific, for students there is a health, counselling, and wellness clinic on campus. It is located on the second floor of the CAW student centre and the clinic offers doctors and nurses where they place students first and work to limit out of pocket expenses. Not only do they do STI testing and treatment but also, pregnancy tests, contraception, physical exams, and more. To make an appointment today call (519) 973-7002
• Windsor- Essex community health centre – Teen Health office is in downtown Windsor, 1361 Ouellette Avenue. Teen Health provides free and confidential services for youth 12-24 years of age. The establishment nurtures a welcoming environment and judgement free zone. It is free of charge with no referral for counselling, testing or treatment of STI’s. Hours of operation are form 9am-6pm Monday to Friday. To make an appointment today call (519) 253-8481.

References

Campanella Day, E. (2022). Communicating with LGBTQ Adolescents: Preventing HIV and Other STIs. Pediatric Nursing, 48(4), 163–166.

Falutz, J. (2016). Pathophysiology of HIV/AIDS. In Managing the Older Adult Patient with

HIV (pp. 7–18). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20131-3_2

Gardner, L. H. (2020). Sexual Behavior of Young Adults with Sexually Transmitted Infections. ABNF Journal, 31(1), 35–43.

Hong, C., Horvath, K. J., Stephenson, R., Nelson, K. M., Petroll, A. E., Walsh, J. L., & John, S. A. (2022). PrEP Use and Persistence Among Young Sexual Minority Men 17–24 Years Old During the COVID-19 Pandemic. AIDS & Behavior, 26(3), 631–638. https://doi-org.ledproxy2.uwindsor.ca/10.1007/s10461-021-03423-5

Lewis, S.M., Heitkemper, M.M. & Dirksen, S.R., O’Brien, P.G., Bucher, L. (2017). Medical – Surgical Nursing in Canada. (4th ed). Mosby- Elsevier, Toronto.

Lindberg, L. D., Bell, D. L., & Kantor, L. M. (2020). The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescents and Young Adults During the COVID‐19 Pandemic. Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health, 52(2), 75–79. https://doi-org.ledproxy2.uwindsor.ca/10.1363/psrh.12151

Nnaji, C., & O. Ojikutu, B. (2022). Intersecting Stigmas: Being Black African, Immigrant, and Living With HIV in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 112(S4), S367–S370.

Penkalski, M. R., Felicilda-Reynaldo, R. F. D., & Patterson, K. (2017). Antiviral Medications,

Part 2: HIV Antiretroviral Therapy. (CNE SERIES: Nursing Pharmacology). Medsurg Nursing, 26(5), 327–331.

Student Health Services. Student Health Services | Student Health, Counselling and Wellness. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.uwindsor.ca/wellness/327/health-services

weCHC, T. H.-. (2022, September 1). Teen health. weCHC. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://wechc.org/location/teen-health/