Young Women's Beliefs About the Terms Sexually Transmitted Disease and Sexually Transmitted Infection

Objective To determine whether young women differentiate between the terms sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted infection and if they do whether their reasons are consistent with those of health care providers. Design Secondary analysis of cross-sectional, survey data. Setting Four women's health clinics and one university classroom. Patient/Participants Three hundred and two women aged 18 to 24. Methods The women completed a survey that measured beliefs about seven sexually transmitted diseases, a demographic and sexually transmitted disease health information questionnaire, and a single item assessing whether the terms sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted infection were interchangeable. Results Fifty-seven percent (n=155) responded that sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted infection do not mean the same thing, 28% (n=76) responded that sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted infection mean the same thing, and 15% (n=42) responded they do not know. Beliefs about sexually transmitted disease stigma and symptoms were not related to sexually transmitted disease terminology; beliefs about curability were related but not in the hypothesized direction. Conclusions A majority of the young women do differentiate between the terms sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted infection; however, the rationale for doing so is not consistent with the rationale used by health care providers. Professionals should clarify their use of the terms sexually transmitted disease and sexually transmitted infection when talking with patients as a means to improve health communication and subsequently improve sexually transmitted disease health care.