STIs in Bisexual Community: Barriers, Strategies, Interventions

This report addresses the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) within the bisexual community, highlighting that men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) are at higher risk. It identifies key barriers to STI prevention, including lack of education, societal stigma, fear of judgment, and reluctance to get tested. The report recommends several interventions, such as promoting education and awareness about STI screening, offering counseling and treatment options, advocating against social stigma, and promoting protected sex through the use of condoms and dental dams. It emphasizes the importance of safer genital hygiene and seeking prompt medical assistance for any abnormalities. Ultimately, the report concludes that increased education, awareness, and accessible care are crucial to controlling the rise of STIs within the bisexual community, referencing studies that support these recommendations.

STIs WITHIN BISEXUAL COMMUNITY
• Sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) can be
defined as the infections that transmit from an
infected individual to a healthy individual due to
unprotected sex
• The most common STIs include gonorrhea,
chlamydia, genital herpes, genital warts, syphilis,
hepatitis B and HIV
• Untreated STIs lead to infertility and reproductive
complications in men and women
TARGET AUDIENCE
• Studies mention that men who are sexually involved
with men as well as women (MSMW) are at a higher
risk of developing STIs compared to gay or straight
men (Jeffries, 2014)
• Further, studies indicate that approximately 2% of
the sexually active males within the United States
are bisexual in orientation and have reported to be
infected with STIs (Fernandes et al., 2015)
• In most of the cases, STIs remain undiagnosed and
that accounts for 20% of the total infertility cases in
Australia (Feinstein & Dyar, 2017)
POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS
• The most common interventions for the treatment
of STIs include,
• Administration of antibiotics
• Educating and promoting awareness about STI
screening (Bostwick et al., 2015)
• Promoting awareness about protective sexual
intercourse and use of condoms, and dental dams
BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION
• Barriers to implementation of the proposed
intervention include,
• Lack of education and awareness relation to
STIs
• Societal stigma and discrimination
• Fear of being judged
• Refraining from getting tested for the fear of
losing the partner
RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES
Recommended strategies that could be used by care
professionals to improve access to care would include the
following:
Promoting education and awareness about screening to
detect STIs
Offering counselling and discussing treatment options
Advocate in the best interest of the patient against social
stigma
Promoting the concept of protected sex to reduce
infections
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
Bostwick, W. B., Hughes, T. L., & Everett, B. (2015). Health behavior, status, and
outcomes among a community-based sample of lesbian and bisexual
women. LGBT health, 2(2), 121-126.
Feinstein, B. A., & Dyar, C. (2017). Bisexuality, minority stress, and health. Current
sexual health reports, 9(1), 42-49.
Fernandes, F. R. P., Zanini, P. B., Rezende, G. R., Castro, L. S., Bandeira, L. M., Puga, M.
A., ... & Motta-Castro, A. R. C. (2015). Syphilis infection, sexual practices and
bisexual behaviour among men who have sex with men and transgender women:
a cross-sectional study. Sex Transm Infect, 91(2), 142-149.
Jeffries IV, W. L. (2014). Beyond the bisexual bridge: sexual health among US men
who have sex with men and women. American journal of preventive
medicine, 47(3), 320-329.
INTRODUCTION
• Therefore, to conclude, it can be mentioned that
studies have ideally revealed the rise in prevalence
of STIs among the bisexual community
• The prevalence rate could be controlled by
disseminating appropriate education and awareness
measures such as encouraging testing and
promoting the use of condoms and dental dams to
prevent the prevalence of infection
• Further, safer genital hygiene and seeking medical
assistance on noticing any abnormality within the
genital region can help in preventing the
progression of infections