Report From the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine-STI: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm-A Synopsis for Sexually Transmitted Infection Practitioners, Clinicians, and Researchers.

ABSTRACT: Despite decades of medical, diagnostic, and public health advances related to diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), rates of reportable STIs continue to grow. A 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on the current state of STI management and prevention in the United States, entitled Sexually Transmitted Infections: Adopting a Sexual Health Paradigm, offers recommendations on future public health programs, policy, and research. This new report builds upon the 1997 Institute of Medicine report, The Hidden Epidemic: Confronting Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and provides 11 recommendations organized under 4 action areas: (1) adopt a sexual health paradigm, (2) broaden ownership and accountability for responding to STIs, (3) bolster existing systems and programs for responding to STIs, and (4) embrace innovation and policy change to improve sexual health. We present our interpretive synopsis of this report, highlighting elements of particular interest to STI and sexual health practitioners, including clinicians, researchers, disease intervention specialists, community outreach workers, and public health staff. The report asserts that it is possible to create a healthier and more equitable future where fewer adolescents and adults are infected, fewer babies are born with STIs, and people entering their sexual debut and continuing throughout the life span are taught the language and skills to conceptualize and enact their own vision for what it means to be sexually healthy.

The National Academies Report on Sexually Transmitted Infections: Implications for Clinical Training, Licensing, and Practice Guidelines.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) represent a sizable, longstanding, and growing challenge and a national public health priority. A recent National Academies report outlines new directions for STI prevention and control, including the adoption of a new sexual health paradigm and broader ownership and accountability for addressing sexual health and STIs among diverse clinical and nonclinical actors. These recommendations have important implications for infectious disease providers with STI and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expertise. As part of the envisioned shift toward greater prioritization of sexual health across systems for healthcare and health promotion, STI and HIV specialty providers will need to increasingly take on responsibilities as leaders in the provision of STI-related training; provision of technical assistance; and alignment of clinical training curricula, licensing criteria, and practice guidelines for healthcare generalists.