The importance of education of nursing professionals about sexually transmitted infections in adolescents

Spolno zdravlje obuhvaća spolni razvoj i reproduktivno zdravlje, kao i sposobnost razvijanja i održavanja značajnih međuljudskih odnosa. Adolescencija je kritično razdoblje u razvoju spolnog ponašanja koje može dovesti do zaraze spolno prenosivih bolesti, pa tako i do neželjene trudnoće. Također je ona vrijeme otkrivanja i istraživanja seksualnosti. Razumijevanje spolnog ponašanja kod adolescenata ključno je za razumijevanje rizika od trudnoće, zaraze spolnim bolestima te za planiranje i procjenu aktivnosti promocije zdravlja. Spolno prenosive bolesti postaju problem u šezdesetim godinama kada je došlo do „seksualne revolucije“ koja se razvila posljedicom razvitka društva gdje dolazi do tolerantnijeg stajališta vezano uz spolnih sloboda i nedvojbeno korištenje oralne hormonalne kontracepcije. Po učestalosti u zemljama u razvoju, karcinom vrata maternice se nalazi na drugom mjestu, dok se HPV infekcija smatra ključnim uzrokom karcinoma vrata maternice. Smatra se da su najvažniji čimbenici za prijenos HPV virusa velik broj spolnih partnera, rano stupanje u spolni odnos, te visokorizični spolni partner, uporaba oralnih kontracepcija, alkohol, pušenje, spolno prenosive bolesti uzrokovane virusnom herpes simplex, kao i neke druge spolne bolesti. Spolno prenosive bolesti veliki su zdravstveni problem među adolescentima. Važno je razumijevanje čimbenika rizika koji se odnose na započinjanje spolne aktivnosti adolescenata, korištenjem kontracepcije, trudnoću i spolno prenosive bolesti. Ovo razumijevanje je važno u identificiranju i skrbi za mlade u riziku i planiranju primarnih i sekundarnih preventivnih programa za škole i zajednice. Kako bi se smanjila stopa rizika od karcinoma vrata maternice, u Republici Hrvatskoj je u studenom 2012. godine pokrenut Nacionalni program s ciljem ranog otkrivanja raka vrata maternice, gdje se svaki tri godine, pozivaju se žene određene dobi. Cilj ovog rada je uvidjeti imaju li učenici dovoljno znanja o spolno prenosivim bolestima. Dobivenim rezultatima možemo utvrditi da su učenici na većinu pitanja znali prepoznati da se radi o istini ili mitu, dok na neka od postavljenih izjava nisu sigurni u odgovore, što pokazuje da usprkos dobrim rezultatima, edukacija medicinske sestre/tehničara kod adolescenata nikako se ne smije propustiti ili zanemariti.Sexual health includes sexual development and reproductive health, as well as the ability to develop and maintain meaningful interpersonal relationships. Adolescence is a critical period in the development of sexual behaviour that can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and undesired pregnancies. It is also a period to discover and explore sexuality. Understanding the sexual behaviour of adolescents is essential for understanding the risk of pregnancy, infection with sexually transmitted diseases, as well as for planning and evaluating health promotion activities. Sexually transmitted diseases became a problem in the sixties when there was a „sexual revolution“ that arose as a result of the development of society with a much more tolerant position regarding sexual freedom and, undoubtedly, the use of oral hormonal contraception. In terms of frequency in developing countries, cervical cancer is in second place, whereas HPV infection is considered the pivotal cause of cervical cancer. It is considered that the most important factors for the transmission of the HPV virus are a large number of sexual partners, early intercourse, and high-risk sexual partner, the use of oral contraceptives, alcohol, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases caused by herpes simplex virus, as well as some other sexually transmitted diseases. Sexually transmitted infections are major health problem among adolescents. It is important to understand the risk factors related to the initiation of adolescent sexual activity, the use of contraception, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. This understanding is indispensable for identifying and caring for at-risk youth and planning primary and secondary prevention programs for schools and communities. In order to reduce the risk of cervical cancer, in November 2012, the Republic of Croatia launched a National program aimed at early detection of cervical cancer, where women of a certain age are invited every three years. The aim of this research is to find out if the students have enough knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases. Based on the obtained results, we can determine that the students were able to recognize that most of the most of the questions were true or false, while they were not sure of the answers to some statements, which shows that despite the good results, nursing education for adolescents should not be missed or ignored