Young women's reasons to seek sexually transmitted infection screening.
OBJECTIVE
To describe young women's reasons to seek and not to seek sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening; to explore whether reasons differed by age and STI screening history.


METHODS
Cross-sectional, descriptive. Female students (N = 216) at a university in the Midwestern United States.


METHODS
An anonymous online survey was designed based on the Theory of Care Seeking Behavior and literature regarding STI screening among young women.


RESULTS
The most common reason to seek STI screening was to start treatment promptly (85%); the most common reason not to seek screening was being asymptomatic (54%). Participants' reasons differed by age and screening history. Women under 25 were more likely than women 25 and older to seek screening because of encouragement from female role models (p < .01). Women who had never been screened were more likely than women who had been screened to avoid screening because of embarrassment (p < .05). Novel findings included seeking STI screening because it "should be done" if sexually active and because of encouragement from female role models.


CONCLUSIONS
Health care and public health professionals can use these findings to develop strategies to improve STI screening rates among young women.
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing.
Uba
U
Backonja
Heather R
HR
Royer
Diane R
DR
Lauver
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
public health nursing practice; screening; sexually transmitted diseases; women's health