Health Equity

Purpose

Social conditions more likely to affect minority groups can cause higher STI rates among some groups. Learning more about STIs and the factors that sustain these epidemics is a first step in empowering affected communities to improve their health status and advance health equity.

Healthy Equity and STIs

Health equity is achieved when everyone has an equal chance to be healthy regardless of their background. This includes a person's race, ethnicity, income, gender, religion, sexual identity, and disability1.

Research shows that there are higher rates of sexually transmitted infections among some racial or ethnic minority groups compared to whites23. Understanding these higher rates are not caused by ethnicity or heritage, but by social conditions that are more likely to affect minority groups, is important. Factors such as poverty, large gaps between the rich and the poor, fewer jobs, and low education levels can make it more difficult for people to stay sexually healthy4.

  • People who cannot afford basic needs may have trouble accessing quality sexual health services5.
  • Many racial/ethnic minorities may distrust the health care system, fearing discrimination from doctors and other health care providers6. This could create negative feelings around getting tested and treated for STIs.
  • In communities with higher STI rates, sexually active people may be more likely to get an STI because they have greater odds of selecting a partner who is infected78.

An STI Prevention Success Story‎

Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders Today: Community Sexual Health Program Cultivates Leadership Skills in Youth


Baltimore City Health Department and CARS team up to empower young leaders to reach their peers about sexual health.

Check out the full suite of STI prevention success stories.

Resources

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Content Source:
National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention; About Division of STD Prevention
  1. The Community Guide: The Guide to Community Preventive Services. Community Preventive Services Task Force. (Page last updated: April 25, 2013) http://www.thecommunityguide.org/healthequity/
  2. Hogben M, Leichliter JS. Social determinants and sexually transmitted disease disparities. Sex Transm Dis. 2008;35(12 Suppl):S13-8.
  3. Cunningham PJ, Cornelius LJ. Access to ambulatory care for American Indians and Alaska Natives; the relative importance of personal and community resources. Soc Sci Med. 1995:40(3): 393-407.
  4. Gonzalez JS, Hendriksen ES, Collins EM, Duran RE, Safren SA. Latinos and HIV/AIDS: examining factors related to disparity and identifying opportunities for psychosocial intervention research. AIDS Behav. 2009:13:582-602.
  5. Institute of Medicine. The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1997.
  6. Wiehe SE, Rosenman MB, Wang J, Katz BP, Fortenberry D. Chlamydia screening among young women: individual- and provider-level differences in testing. Pediatrics. 2011;127(2): e336-44.
  7. Hogben M, Leichliter JS. Social determinants and sexually transmitted disease disparities. Sex Transm Dis. 2008;35(12 Suppl):S13-8.
  8. Laumann EO, Youm Y. Racial/ethnic group differences in the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the United States: a network explanation. Sex Transm Dis. 1999;26(5):250-61.