ASHA was founded in 1914 as the American Social Hygiene Association. By 1959 that name seemed dated so ASHA became the American Social Health Association, a moniker we kept until we rang in 2013 by becoming the American Sexual Health Association.
Times change and our language and terminology need the occasional dusting off (perhaps reboot is more appropriate in 2016?). Another case in point from our sexual health field: the term VD (for venereal disease) eventually was replaced by STD which, in turn, is often playing second fiddle to STI (read our explanation of all this here). Do we perhaps need a more precise term?
In her paper “STD (sexually transmitted disease) or STI (sexually transmitted infection): Should we choose?” medical linguist Janet Byron Anderson, PhD, argues that we do and proposes “sexually transmissible infectious disease (STID)” as a more accurate way to refer these infections or diseases or…well, you read her paper and let us know what you think.
Do we need a new term for a new era and is STID the way to go? Send your comments to us via email and we’ll publish selected musings on the subject.
About 1.6 million cases of chlamydia and 600,000 cases of gonorrhea are diagnosed in the United Sates each year. A new study suggests that these patients may not be following through with STI treatment or getting the right antibiotics.
A clinical trial of a new antibiotic found that it works just as well as a current drug regimen for treating gonorrhea infections. This is important because the bacteria that causes gonorrhea has become resistant to most existing antibiotics.
There’s new research to suggest that the birth control pill can protect female athletes from ACL tears which is one of the most common knee injuries. While this may sound far-fetched, the science behind it is very interesting.
The FDA just approved a new, fully at-home test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. The tests, which is only for women, will be available without a prescription. Users can collect their own sample and have results in less than 30 minutes.
A new study of more than 200,000 women found that women who had ever taken the pill had a 26% lower risk of ovarian cancer.
A new study found that opt-out screenings for all patients in emergency departments caught numerous cases of syphilis and HIV that would have gone undetected under other screening protocols.
ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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