Students v STI: can they beat it alone?

By JANE DUNNET
THE number of young people affected by a sexually transmitted infection (STI) is climbing steadily each year, and worried health professionals are asking who is supposed to control this growing problem?

Should students be left to look after themselves or should they be actively encouraged to “take the test” and if necessary seek treatment?

Chlamydia is the most commonly contracted STI in Australia and is most prevalent among young people.

In the ACT in 2000, 243 people were reported to have contracted Chlamydia. Ten years later, the number had risen to 1170. Already in 2011, 261 people have registered with Chlamydia.

Public education and awareness of about Chlamydia has been ramped up, and it seems inexplicable that the number of cases is still rising so dramatically.

Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT) is an organisation whose role to raise awareness of the importance of sexual health and safety.

Health promotion and community education officer Linda Heffernan is responsible for supplying students with free Chlamydia tests in conjunction with another project, Stamp Out Chlamydia (SOC).

“Chlamydia is the highest notified STI in Australia, one in 14 people have it and it doesn’t always have symptoms” Linda explains.
“It’s most common between 16 and 30 year olds so we really want to target them.”

Linda and fellow SHFPACT colleagues give students the opportunity to take a free Chlamydia test at various events around Canberra.

The logic is that by offering the tests in a safe and relaxed environment – and with a $10 cash incentive – young people are more inclined to take a quick, private and easy test. And doing it among groups of friends is an effective way of spreading awareness.

The results take a couple of weeks to process and if they return positive, the participant is notified and given information on treatment.

Similar projects exist across Australia and the rest of the world. Many offer a cash incentive similar to SHFPACT.

An organisation in the UK set up a free Chlamydia testing stall at a music festival last year and the incentive they offered was a “luxury toilet”; an attractive alternative to the usual less hygienic porta-loos used by the masses.

The gimmick was effective and 765 people aged from 15 to 24 (around one in 10 festival patrons) were tested and educated.

Free testing was available at the recent Sexual Health and Guidance (SHAG) week at the University of Canberra.

SHAG week is held annually to promote healthy living by educating students on the lifestyle choices young people face.

The activities officer for the University of Canberra Union, Christine Gates, helps organise the week of events every year to raise students’ awareness of the importance of mental, physical and sexual health.

“SHAG week is important because it aims to actually educate students and staff at the university about what’s available to them, not only on campus, but also within the greater Canberra area,” she said.

Christine believes educating and raising awareness is a necessary step in reducing the number of STIs contracted. She feels it is important for both staff and students to know and understand the dangers of unhealthy choices.

“It’s obviously the students’ own responsibility,” she said. “They need to be aware of things they should and shouldn’t do. But I also think it’s up to us and the university staff to provide a safe campus as well.”

Lexie Vazey is a student at the University who attended SHAG week. While Lexie agrees it is important to raise awareness, she also believes people need to educate themselves.

“If you’re old enough to be sexually active, you’re smart enough to understand the need to be safe,” she said. “You need to take control and seek the information and protection needed to avoid contracting an STI.”

Lexie acknowledges that education can only do so much, but that there is a very casual approach to sex amongst young people.

“At school we weren’t scared or shocked into safe sex,” she said. We were given the facts and it was assumed we were intelligent enough to learn by them. Students don’t take the precautions seriously, and that’s where they get into trouble.

“You can be casual, but you have to be careful.”

With the influence of drinking culture on young people and the fact that Chlamydia is treatable with antibiotics, it seems many aren’t concerned about the risks of unprotected sex.

Chlamydia, which can be contracted by both males and females, generally shows no symptoms but can become very dangerous if left unattended, and it can even lead to infertility.

Lexie feels that the discussion of STIs should not be taken lightly and that the free testing available at events where students are likely to be drinking may “trivialise” the issue.

“Testing should be more clinical and taken more seriously,” she ssaid. “Most people might not understand the concept until they receive their results. It’s something they need to seek out independently,” she said.