Pediatric Resident Physician University of Florida Jacksonville College of Medicine Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Background: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are a significant problem in the United States (U.S.). Approximately half of the 20 million new cases of STIs in the U.S. occur in ages 15-24. Youth utilize the Emergency Department (ED) at higher rates than primary care offices for STI concerns, even when other community resources are closer in proximity. The ED is an underutilized setting to address lack of knowledge of STIs. Many high-risk adolescents seek treatment for STIs in our ED but education is limited to template discharge instructions and verbal education. There is limited data on the STI knowledge of adolescents presenting to the ED and the impact of video based STI educational intervention in the ED. Objective: We aim to increase percent correct from pre-survey to post-survey by 10% and have 80% participants able to identify community resources by April 2024. Design/Methods: Adolescents aged 16-20 who present to the ED with a concern for an STI were asked to complete pre- and post-visit knowledge-based surveys with questions adapted from the National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health 2018. In Cycle 1 (12/2021- 6/2021), physicians and nurses provided their usual verbal education. Cycle 2 (7/2022-12/2022) introduced standard CDC STI fact sheets during the visit. In Cycle 3(8/2023-12/2023), patients will watch a community curated CDC fact guided educational video. The project is registered in UF Health QI Project Registry (QIPR1688). We plan to collect 30 surveys for Cycle 3. Histograms will display changes between cycles and paired bivariate analyses will be used to evaluate changes in mean knowledge scores between pre- and post-survey in Cycle 3. We will evaluate average percent correct per question to identify additional knowledge gaps to inform other cycles and assess the awareness of community resources.
