Abstract
According to the 2022 Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in five Americans are affected by an STD, emphasizing the urgent need to prioritize STDs as a public health concern (CDC, 2024). Rising STD rates have become a prevalent problem within an urban county in West Texas and have been attributed to lack of education and risky sexual behavior. To address the knowledge gaps, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) has introduced a new national objective within the Healthy People 2030 initiative, aimed at increasing the proportion of adolescents who receive formal sex education before the age of 18 (ODPHP, n.d.). The goal of this project was to deliver an abstinence-centered seminar to middle school students with three primary objectives: (1) enhance understanding of the physical and emotional risks associated with sexual activity, (2) bolster confidence (self-efficacy) in resisting unwanted sexual advances, and (3) foster a stronger intention to abstain from sexual activity until in a committed, long-term relationship, such as marriage. Student surveys were administered before and 30 days after the seminar was delivered. Surveys included questions surrounding demographics, knowledge, confidence, and behavioral intent. A two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess statistical differences between pre- and post-survey scores. Statistically significant results were obtained for both confidence and behavioral intent (p<.001). Although significance was not obtained for knowledge scores, an improvement was seen between the pre- and post-survey. In conclusion, this project supports the use of an abstinence-based seminar, such as Choices 360, in middle schools to help decrease STD rates in an urban county in West Texas.
Notes
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, April 12). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance report, 2020.https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2020/2020-SR-4-10-2023.pdf.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, January 30). Sexually transmitted infections surveillance, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2022/default.htm
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Healthy People 2030: Increase the proportion of adolescents who get formal sex education before age 18 years — FP-08. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/familyplanning/increase-proportion-adolescents-who-get-formal-sex-education-age-18-years-fp08/data?group=Geographic%20location&state=United%20States&from=2015&to=2019&p opulations=Non-metropolitan
Sigma Membership
Iota Mu
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Public and Community Health, Curriculum Development, Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, STDs, Adolescents
Recommended Citation
Hatchett, Brittany Nicole, "Choices 360: Addressing STDs in Adolescents Through an Abstinence-Based Seminar" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 8.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/8
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-17
Choices 360: Addressing STDs in Adolescents Through an Abstinence-Based Seminar
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
According to the 2022 Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in five Americans are affected by an STD, emphasizing the urgent need to prioritize STDs as a public health concern (CDC, 2024). Rising STD rates have become a prevalent problem within an urban county in West Texas and have been attributed to lack of education and risky sexual behavior. To address the knowledge gaps, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) has introduced a new national objective within the Healthy People 2030 initiative, aimed at increasing the proportion of adolescents who receive formal sex education before the age of 18 (ODPHP, n.d.). The goal of this project was to deliver an abstinence-centered seminar to middle school students with three primary objectives: (1) enhance understanding of the physical and emotional risks associated with sexual activity, (2) bolster confidence (self-efficacy) in resisting unwanted sexual advances, and (3) foster a stronger intention to abstain from sexual activity until in a committed, long-term relationship, such as marriage. Student surveys were administered before and 30 days after the seminar was delivered. Surveys included questions surrounding demographics, knowledge, confidence, and behavioral intent. A two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test was used to assess statistical differences between pre- and post-survey scores. Statistically significant results were obtained for both confidence and behavioral intent (p<.001). Although significance was not obtained for knowledge scores, an improvement was seen between the pre- and post-survey. In conclusion, this project supports the use of an abstinence-based seminar, such as Choices 360, in middle schools to help decrease STD rates in an urban county in West Texas.
Description
The 2022 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report reveals that one in five Americans is affected by an STD, highlighting the urgent need for public health initiatives (CDC, 2024). To combat this, an abstinence-centered seminar for middle school students. Surveys conducted pre- and post-seminar indicated significant improvements in confidence and behavioral intent (p<.001), while knowledge scores also showed positive trends.