Improving Provider Sexual Health Education for Male Post Deployment Veterans
Abstract
Background: Post-deployment male veterans have an almost three-fold higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections than the civilian population. Despite resources available to primary healthcare providers, there is little research that assesses the effectiveness of existing sexual health education materials for providers in the Veteran Affairs (VA) system. This quality improvement initiative assessed both the barriers to sexual health education and the level of provider awareness of existing sexual health education materials. Methods: This quasi-interventional quality improvement study was conducted with an educational intervention with pre- and post-test for primary care providers. A total of 19 primary care providers, including physicians and nurse practitioners, with at least one year of experience participated. A pre-test was administered to assess barriers, provider experience, and provider knowledge of sexual health educational resources available. Providers attended a one-hour intervention educating them about resources available to support sexual health education and counseling. A post-test was administered at the end of the in-service intervention to assess effectiveness. Data were analyzed using SPSS to conduct a repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: Results indicate that provider knowledge of two key resources (Men’s Health: A Guide to Preventing Infections, which known at the PVAMC as the VA Men’s Health Guide, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) increased from pre-test to post-test (p = 0.01 and p = 0.001, respectively). No other differences were demonstrated to provide sexual health education or barriers hindering sexual health education. Conclusion: An educational intervention aimed at increasing primary care provider knowledge about sexual health resources is effective in raising awareness of key guidelines and recommendations. No difference was demonstrated after educational intervention with regard to the barrier’s providers experience with sexual health education. Key Words: STI, sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, herpes, male, veterans, military, intervention, education, prevention
Subject Area
Nursing|Public Health Education|Sexuality|Military studies
Recommended Citation
Kwami, David Selasi, "Improving Provider Sexual Health Education for Male Post Deployment Veterans" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. AAI28091616.
https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/dissertations/AAI28091616
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