Sexual Health and Family Planning among Children, Adolescents, Adults, and Elderly - Assignment Example

Sexual Health & Family Planning Journal Entry 10 1. Prenatal: conception to birth: No expected sexual behavior 2. Infancy: birth through to one year: Expresses sexuality by touching one’s sexual organs 3. Toddler: 1-4 years: Is not aware of need for privacy in regard to exposing private body parts. Touching, showing the genitals and masturbating as a comfort habit. Kissing and hugging other people. They are curious about other’s private body parts (Blau, 2010). 4. Preschool: 4-5 years: Is not aware of need for privacy in regard to exposing private body parts. Touching, showing the genitals and masturbating as a comfort habit. Kissing and hugging other people. Curious about other people’s sexual organs and talks about private body parts freely. Repeating the sexual language the toddler has heard before (Kuper, 2012). 5. School age: 5-9 years: Is aware of need for privacy in regard to exposing private body parts. Touching, showing the genitals and masturbating as a comfort habit. Kissing and hugging other people. Curious about other people’s sexual organs and talks about private body parts freely. Repeating the sexual language the toddler has heard before (Blau, 2010). 6. Pre-adolescent: 10-11 years: Kissing and hugging other people. Might “date” other people from opposite sex and is aware for the need of privacy. They have interest in private body parts of other peoples and changes taking place in puberty. Makes enquiries regarding relationships and sexual behavior and might explore sexual photos even from internet and masturbates privately (Kuper, 2012). 7. Adolescent: 12-21 years (early 12-14 years, middle 14-17, late 17-21 years): Might have long relationships and knows a lot about sex. Experiments sexual intercourse and masturbates privately. Talks about relationships and sex with the peers and explores sexual images in the internet (Blau, 2010). Journal Entry 11 The visited secondary school has a sexual health education program that targets all students. Lessons are taught on Saturdays and last for 2 hours with breaks and lessons are scheduled on all Saturdays for about 15 sessions. All students participate even though the program is voluntary and this indicates that the students in the school are open to change. The content of the program includes; sexual risk-taking behaviors, safe sex and abstinence. Therefore, the program primarily focuses on changing the students’ respective risk and protective factors where for instance to increase apparent risk of contracting STD students participate in simulations demonstrating how STD can spread among young people and advantages of abstaining or using protection. During classes, students are divided into small groups and this has enabled implementation of interactive small group activities and everyone gets involved in discussions. Teaching methods include; discussions, homework assignment, role plays, stories, competitive games and simulations of risk. From the school’s perspective, the program is effective because according to the teacher, ever since the program began there has been significant reduction of pregnancies among students. The key stakeholders involved in the program encompass school principal, ministry of education, teachers, as well as selected peer educators with desired behavior. The program collaborates with the local youth-based organization. Journal Entry 12 The older person over 70 years was hesitant to discuss his sexual concerns and when any topic regarding sexuality arose during our interactions he was somehow embarrassed discussing the issue. However, there were times he got open and claimed that his major sexual concern was that he would not be able to perform anymore. From him, his sexual needs and desires were strong but his flesh had become weak such that however much strong the sexual desires and needs were, he is not able to have a robust erection and only maintains an erection for a few minutes. He confessed to having used Viagra for about 10 years. However, the man was still active sexually only that his sexual physical responses don’t come close to matching his sexual mental desires. According to Pinto (2011) among the major concerns as men age is that their sex performance will get poor. As men grow older, some physiological changes affect their sexual functioning for instance an enlarged prostate can hinder erection and amounts testosterone a hormone linked to libido and sexual virility progressively reduces and blood flow to the genitals is not as fast as when one is younger. Pinto (2011) further explains that as people grow older, it takes longer for their bodies to respond to sexual stimulation. For example, a 70 year old man might have strong sexual desire and feel highly aroused but he might require longer, stronger stimulation in order to attain an erection. Journal Entry 13 The client had kidney disease and had fears if his sexuality would be normal or there will be changes as a result of the illness. Generally, there are several things that can impact on the client’s sexuality due to the kidney disease and they include: hormones, nerves, energy levels, and even the medications the client is on. Is the Loss Symbolic? The client felt that due to the loss of interest in sex, he was likely to lose his partner. The client was stressed and depressed and I gathered that emotions and fear of death and disability as a result of the disease was contributing to his sexuality problems. Is the Change Temporary? According to the client, he had lost interest in sex and was wondering if the change was temporary. I explained to the client that there was a possibility of his sexual interest going back to normal because the loss of interest may have been caused by him requiring a lot of energy to cope with the physical and emotional changes that the disease had brought. Are the Changes to the Body Functional? The client said that he had difficulties in having or maintaining an erection. I explained to him that this is common in kidney disease because drugs’ side effects, accumulation of toxic wastes in the blood can contribute to the change but I also explained that the problems are treatable. Is the Client Feeling Dehumanized as a result of Medical Experience? The client was feeling less attractive die to the physical changes that the disease has brought and this had contributed to his loss of interest in sex. Journal Entry 14 Four most Common STIs in South Australia Chlamydia 4,084 cases in 2014 Gonorrhea 567 cases in 2014 Hepatitis 549 cases in 2014 Syphilis 107 cases in 2014 (South Australia, 2014) Four most Common STIs in Australia Chlamydia (genital) 82,707 new cases Gonorrhea: The rate of diagnosis of gonorrhoea increased by 67% from 2008 to 2012 Syphilis: The rate of diagnosis of infectious syphilis increased among males from 6.1 in 2008 to 6.7 in 2012 HIV/AIDS: The annual number of new HIV diagnoses in Australia increased by 10% in 2012 over the numbers diagnosed in 2011 (Government of Australia, 2014) Comparison Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are among the most common STIs in Australia as well as in South Australia. However, in Australia HIV/AIDS is the fourth most common STI while in South Australia the Hepatitis is the third most common STI. Both Australia and South Australia have a high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. Generally, Chlamydia is the most common STI in both Australia and South Australia. Journal Entry 15 Levy, M 2005, Behind bars: sexual health in Australian prisons’, in M Temple-Smith & S Gifford (eds), Sexual health: an Australian perspective, IP Communications, Melbourne, pp. 179-186. Prisoners face various sexual health challenges while in prisons. They never get their sexual desires fulfilled and many are prisoners that complete their jail terms without having had sex with their partners. Additionally, some prisoners force their fellow prisoners into sex activities. This is especially terrifying for prisoners who are heterosexuals and are forced into homosexual activities. Still, sexual assault is very prevalent in Australian prisons (Levy, 2005). According to my beliefs, everybody deservers to have a health sexuality and hence prisoners as the articles argues should be given a chance to lead a fulfilling sexual life during their stay in prisons. Journal Entry 16 Male Condoms Use effectiveness of Male Condoms When used correctly during sex, the effectiveness of male condoms is 98% and this implies that only 2 out of 100 women whose partners use male condoms as contraception get pregnant within one year (Jackson, 2013). Availability Male condoms are readily available and everybody can get them for free from: contraception clinics, sexual health clinics, some GP surgeries and some NGO’s and Youth agencies and services. Additionally, one can buy male condoms from pharmacies, websites, shops, supermarkets, entertainment joints and such (Jackson, 2013). Cost They are free especially from sexual health facilities and are relatively cheap where one can get up to 144 condoms for only $5 (Jackson, 2013). Popularity Usage Rate Condom is one of the most common used contraception especially among young people and teenagers. Mode of Action Condoms act as a barrier contraception method by stopping sperm from reaching an egg by creation a physical barrier between the sperm and the egg. When used appropriately, condoms can also protect against STIs (Jackson, 2013). Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages When used appropriately and consistently, the method is reliable in pregnancy prevention Apart from being a contraception, condoms also protect against STIs They rarely have any side effects Condoms are readily available Disadvantages Sometimes condoms tear when not used correctly Some people find that condoms disrupt sex Sometimes condoms might have allergic reactions (Jackson, 2013). Effects on Sexuality Condoms may interrupt sex and also may have allergies which may lead to allergic reactions on the sexual organs of both partners (Jackson, 2013). Journal Activity 17 Sexuality means sexual intercourse, gender identity, gender role, sexual orientation, reproduction, intimacy, how one feels about him/herself and how one communicates that. Sexuality is expressed and experienced in the mind, values, attitudes, desires, actions, behaviors, practices, relationships as well as roles. Factors that influence sexuality include biological, psychological, social, religious, legal, cultural and economic factors among others. This is different from the opinion I had about sexuality because in the start of the topic I thought that sexuality mainly involves sexual intercourse. Journal Entry 18 Reflection Through the various activities in sexual health and family planning course, I have been able to learn a lot regarding sexual health and family planning. Previously, I always thought that sexuality only entails sex but with various activities I have discovered that sexuality encompasses many things including attitudes and feelings towards relationships, sex and other aspects. In addition, the activities have enabled me identify various family planning methods and explore and understand the most effective contraceptives. More importantly, through these activities t was possible to identify various groups whose sexuality is at risk and this includes prisoners, street children and even prostitutes. It is important for a nurse to understand these challenges because a nurse deals with diverse clients. These activities have helped me to gather enormous knowledge regarding sexual health and family planning and thus in future practice I will be able to work effectively with issues of sexuality, intimate relationships, contraceptives and sex as well. Bibliography Blau, M., 2010, Sexual behaviour of children. Sydney: Author. Government of Australia, 2014, Sexually Transmitted Infections in Australia, 2014, . Jackson, A, 2013, Contraceptive use among Youths, Journal of Family Planning, 88 (3), 456-464. Kuper, J., 2012, Normative sexual behavior in children, Pediatrics, 88 (3), 456-464. Levy, M 2005, Behind bars: sexual health in Australian prisons’, in M Temple-Smith & S Gifford (eds), Sexual health, Melbourne: An Australian perspective, IP Communications. Pinto, H. (2011). Sexuality and Intimate Relationships in Older People, SIECUS Report, 19 (6), 8 -15. South Australia, 2014, Notifiable disease reporting, . Read More