Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Prevention Education and Services in a Nationally Representative Sample of Schools - United States, 2014

Background: Because schools have direct contact with children and adolescents for about six hours a day and up to 13 years of their development, schools play a critical role in preventing sexually transmitted infections among young people. Little is known, however, about the extent to which schools in the United States offer STD prevention education and services to students. This study fills that gap by assessing the prevalence of health education and health services related to STD prevention and treatment in U.S. schools.

Methods: We analyzed data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014.  SHPPS collected data from a nationally representative sample of public and private elementary, middle, and high schools (n=631) and from a nationally representative sample of required health education classes and courses (n=495). Data were obtained through face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews conducted in schools with school staff.

Results: In 2014, 8.7% of elementary schools, 59.0% of middle schools, and 83.1% of high schools required students to receive instruction on STD prevention.  Middle schools spent a median of 2.6 hours of instructional time on STD prevention and high schools spent a median of 3.5 hours. In the area of health services, 21.9% of middle schools and 53.8% of high schools offered identification, treatment of, or referral for STDs to students; 18.6% of middle schools and 44.7% of high schools offered STD prevention in one-on-one or small-group sessions.

Conclusions: While the majority of middle schools and high schools in the United States require STD prevention education for students, fewer schools are providing STD-related services. This is a missed opportunity given the amount of time young people spend in school.