Improving services for prevention and treatment of STI/RTI
Chapter 5. Promoting prevention of STI/RTI and use of services

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Raising awareness and promoting services

Even when accessibility and acceptability barriers to clinic attendance have been removed, some people may not use the facilities because they are not aware that anything is wrong. Prevention efforts, as well as promotion of clinic services for STI/RTI detection and treatment, must therefore be directed to people in the community.

Health care workers should promote early use of services for people with symptoms or concerns about STIs/RTIs. This includes:

• raising awareness of STIs/RTIs and their complications;
• educating people about STI/RTI symptoms and the importance of early use of health care services;
• promoting screening services such as syphilis testing early in pregnancy;
• promoting services and reaching out to young people or other vulnerable groups who may not feel comfortable using clinic services.

Messages should emphasize the benefits of prevention, and of early treatment over later treatment (Box 5.1). Health care providers can contribute to a public health approach to STI/RTI control and help reduce the burden of disease in the community by reaching all kinds of people and convincing them of the value and importance of early use of STI/RTI services.

 

Box 5.1. Messages to promote use of services for prevention and treatment of STIs/RTIs

People in the community should be aware of STIs/RTIs and know how to prevent and treat them

Prevention is better than cure �The most effective strategy is to prevent infection in the first place by reducing exposure (delaying initiation of sex, reducing number of partners and/or using condoms consistently). Early treatment is better than late treatment�When STIs/RTIs do occur, early identification and treatment can eliminate infection before it causes complications or spreads to other people. Better late than never�Diagnosis and treatment of complications are possible even if the first two levels of prevention fail. However, interventions at this level are often less effective and more expensive than those applied earlier.