Gonorrhea and High School Dropout Rates: Sister-Sister Mentoring Program

Authors

Natalie Ardon
Steven Guo
J'adore Loftin
Christine Maone

Files

Description

The increasing incidence rates of Gonorrhea has been a particularly important issue in the District of Columbia. The population most greatly affected by gonorrhea include sexually active African American teenagers aged 15-19 years old. If left untreated, Gonorrhea can cause serious and permanent health problems including pelvic inflammatory disease, eye pain and uncontrolled discharge. Therefore, efforts to reduce incidence rates of gonorrhea should be focused on prevention rather than treatment. Focusing our efforts solely on education has proved to have limited success on reducing risky sexual behaviour within teens. Instead, our Sister-Sister mentoring program, focuses on improving school attendance and involvement. High school dropouts, particularly females, are more likely to contract STIs due to the lower human capital, more time and opportunity for risky behaviour, and the change in the social circles of the teens. Sister-Sister aims to reduce the incidence rates of gonorrhea within 15-19 year old female high school students by implementing a mentoring program housed at Roosevelt STAY High School. This program will encourage responsibility to the school, build relationships, and increase school involvement in order to reduce dropout and gonorrhea incidence rates.

Publication Date

2019

Comments

©2019 The Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Recommended Citation

Ardon, Natalie; Guo, Steven; Loftin, J'adore; and Maone, Christine, "Gonorrhea and High School Dropout Rates: Sister-Sister Mentoring Program" (2019). DC Health and Academic Prep Program (DC HAPP). 30.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/dchapp/30

Open Access

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