Holistic and Evidence-Informed Wellness for STI Prevention

STIs represent a serious public health and economic burden in the United States (U.S.), with approximately 2.2 million new infections occurring each year. As the nation's lead public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a unique responsibility to provide national leadership in STI prevention and control. To meet this challenge, CDC supports a comprehensive and integrated approach to STI prevention that goes beyond simply addressing the absence of disease. It empowers individuals to make healthy choices and build healthy relationships, as an approach to reducing STIs in the U.S. This whole-person approach focuses not just on physical health, but also considers the emotional, mental, and social well-being of the individual.

A key component of this approach is supporting a national coalition of sexual health and wellness expertise that allows for the strategic use of limited resources for STI prevention. The coalition brings together a range of organizations, clinical experts, and individuals committed to comprehensive and holistic sexual health and wellness frameworks for STI prevention. The goal is for them to work together to share clear, accurate information, promote quality sexual health care, and empower individuals and communities to make choices that improve health and reduce STI risk – with a particular focus on priority groups most affected by STIs.

This funding strengthens STI prevention efforts by supporting coalition management and the development, promotion, and dissemination of high-quality, evidence-based sexual health-related materials, resources, and tools to their partners, health care providers, and the public. Together, these efforts complement and supplement traditional STI prevention strategies, accelerating progress toward increasing timely diagnoses and treatment and reducing the STI morbidity in the U.S.