Improving Sexual Health Knowledge in College Students

Background: Since 2014, the rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have increased in the United States with young people (ages fifteen to twenty-four), gay and bisexual men, and pregnant women being some of the most vulnerable groups for these sexually transmitted infections (CDC, 2014, 2018). In parallel, only 51.4% of college students have a moderate level of STI knowledge (Adebayo, Anderson, & Wardecker, 2020). Objectives: The aim of this quality improvement project was to implement a sexual health product ordering system and initiate an education platform to (1) improve sexual health knowledge by 25% by December 2021 and (2) provide evidence of student satisfaction with the ordering service and educational platform. Methods: A novel sexual health product online ordering platform was implemented allowing students to order condoms, lubrication, and dental dams. To provide education, a slide deck was created, focusing on sexually transmitted infections, recommended sexual health screenings, and pertinent sexual health education. Additionally, students were given other resources to review at their leisure. The Sexually Transmitted Disease Knowledge Questionnaire (STD-KQ) was utilized to evaluate sexual health knowledge prior to and after receiving the requested products and education material (Jaworski & Carey, 2007). Results: Seven students completed the pre- and post- questionnaire and showed a 38.22% increase in scores and 6 out of 7 students reported positive satisfaction with the project. Discussion: Providing sexual health education to college aged students has potential to increase knowledge of STIs and lead to improved future health outcomes