Summary
My topic for this assessment was the internet information in STDs prevention. My target audience is South Florida patients with specifics to both genders who are between age 20 to 30, since these are the most active people in sex. Cebo (2017) assumes that, teenagers are in danger of contracting STDs and other diseases such as HIV/AIDs. I was able to complete my assignment through the help of Primehealth Physicians website which is an alliance of healthcare physicians who provide medical services to South Florida patients (PrimeHealth Physicians, n.d.). As a health practitioner, I chose the topic to further my knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases and to educate people on methods of protecting themselves as discussed by Uchira et al. (2018). I presented the project as my final activity for my studies. My lecturer issued permission for presenting my work, where I used brochures and flyers to advertise my compilation among fellow students.
Evaluation
My efforts to create awareness of STDs has been successful evidenced by increased portal users and visits on the official Primehealth Physicians website. Google analytics is a highly effective tool in monitoring and evaluating website traffic and can be used to as an effective evaluation tool in my project. According to Yadav et al. (2018), the use of condoms is one of the effective measures of protecting and preventing STDs transmissions. Residents of South Florida appreciated my efforts in educating them on matters relating to STDs and how to protect themselves. I felt confident and essential for communicating to people, especially the teenagers, in matters relating to STDs prevention (Widman et al., 2019). I promoted good health through creating awareness about the dangers of STDs. I was satisfied with information dissemination and consistency in health awareness promotion but I was not sure whether majority of the of my audience were able to integrate the portal with mobile application. In future, I would like to create my own blog page where patients and health information seekers can research and find information relating to STDs.
Conclusion
STDs prevention among young people can be effectively promoted through the internet such as the portal used in my project. The website, in connection with the mobile application, provides a convenient, comfortable environment for patient education, this can increase the availability of high-quality information. I realized that STDs existed between members f society who did not take it seriously. According to the feedbacks I got, many people felt ashamed when talking about STDs resulting in severe complications due to prolonged infections. STDs are signs of active sex partners and should be a signal for need of more protection and knowledge on how to protect and prevent ourselves.
References
Cebo, D. (2017). Assessing of knowledge and awareness of HPV and HIV among teenagers in Europe. World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(8), 216-219.
PrimeHealth Physicians. (n.d.) Information for patients. Web.
Uchira, U., Rahmat, H., & Retno, I. (2018). Methods of preventing sexually transmitted disease (STD): a systematic review.
Widman, L., Golin, C. E., Kamke, K., Massey, J., & Prinstein, M. J. (2017). Feasibility and acceptability of a web-based HIV/STD prevention program for adolescent girls targeting sexual communication skills. Health Education Research, 32(4), 343-352.
Yadav, A. K., Gupta, H., Vaz, L. S., & Yadav, J. (2018). Human immunodeficiency virus, sexually transmitted disease awareness and condom usage among long-distance internal truck drivers in Pune, India. HIV & AIDS Review. International Journal of HIV-Related Problems, 17(1), 40-48.