In 2016, I began my nursing journey in public health as a student nurse. After being interviewed to see if I would be a good fit, I was offered the opportunity to join the Sexual Health and Harm Reduction program with a new preceptor. Five years later, I am still employed in what I consider to be one of the most fulfilling yet challenging roles, working with individuals who are disproportionately impacted by sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections. Rising rates of sexually transmitted and blood borne infections is a problem that our region, province and country has been dealing with for many years. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) (2019):
The overall rate of chlamydia infections has increased by 33.1% from 2010 to 2019
In the past ten years, gonorrhea rates soared, increasing by 181.7%
Infectious syphilis increased by 393.1% between 2010 and 2019
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022), indicates that syphilis can cause neurological symptoms, loss of hearing, stroke, and impaired vision if it is left untreated or not treated properly. In order to tailor the response to locally rising syphilis rates, the federal government must collaborate with territorial and provincial governments (Pan American Health Organization, 2022). Additionally, healthcare initiatives must be culturally sensitive and address stigma and discrimination as obstacles to accessing care (Pan American Health Organization, 2022). News stations have recently highlighted the rising syphilis rates, such as this recent City News clip, which examines the issue both nationally and in the prairies:
In my current role as a Public Health Nurse, I am familiar with the Ottawa Charter's strategy of developing personal skills, however, I want to learn more about reorienting health services and creating supportive environments to combat growing syphilis infections. I hope to gain more knowledge regarding the current issues that are driving increased syphilis rates within the community. I look forward to reviewing current evidence to learn about what initiatives or interventions may be implemented in order to reduce rates of syphilis in the community. This topic is directly related to my current field of work, and I hope to apply some of this new found knowledge to my practice as public health nurse within Sexual Health and Harm Reduction. However, I am concerned that there will not be enough credible evidence to support one specific strategy for reducing syphilis rates. It also may be challenging to find current evidence-based initiatives that are specific to rising syphilis rates versus rates of STIs in general. Despite these challenges, I look forward to building upon my foundational knowledge of health promotion concepts and learn how to apply this knowledge to my current role.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). What healthcare providers can do.https://www.cdc.gov/std/syphilis/CTAproviders.htm
City News. (2022). Syphilis cases rise across Canada. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQPhmY--ljE&ab_channel=CityNews
Pan American Health Organization. (2022). Stakeholder meeting to address the rise of syphilis in the region of the americas. https://iris.paho.org/bitstream/handle/10665.2/56166/PAHOCDEHT220012_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2019). Report on sexually transmitted infection surveillance in Canada, 2019. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/publications/diseases-conditions/report-sexually-transmitted-infection-surveillance-canada-2019/pub1-eng.pdf
Comments