A sexually transmitted disease education and prevention curriculum, with implementation plan, developed for the gay men's community

This applied dissertation was designed to address a need at a community-based health clinic in order to target sexually transmitted disease education and prevention efforts among gay men effectively. Current information about barriers to education and prevention efforts, expressed in the community, was lacking. Unprotected sex among gay and bisexual men is on the increase and there have been increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases among gay and bisexual men.; The researcher used a mixed methods approach to assess current knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases, to gain insight into sexual behavior and reasons for the increased prevalence of unprotected sex, to understand if there were barriers expressed in the community with regards to education and prevention efforts, and to find out how the target community learns. Data were collected through a survey and focus group.; An analysis of the data revealed that although the community has basic knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases and the risks of unprotected sex, the community engaged in high rates of unprotected sex. Factors such as drugs, alcohol, psychosocial behavior, and the Internet played a role in this. The target community also identified antigay marriage laws and other antigay societal impacts as contributors to increase risk taking.; It was concluded that an Internet-based education and prevention curriculum is needed to target gay men because the Internet played a part in high-risk sexual behavior. The Internet was also reported to be a learning mechanism by those surveyed. An Internet-based education and prevention presentation and curriculum was developed to effectively target gay men in this community. Recommendations for the clinic include targeting antigay societal impacts as well as improving participation among staff and volunteers in the clinic's interventions to target the community effectively.