Helen's Literature Review Summary

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 18.9 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases/infections occurred in the United States in 2001. Of the sexually active population, people aged 15-24 years consist of only 25%. However, in 2001, about half of sexually transmitted diseases/infections cases took place among this young population (CDC, 2006).

This literature review focuses on five different interventions that were implemented to prevent sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents. Of the five articles discussed, only one article specifically identified the type of models and theories the intervention was based upon.

The article, “Abstinence and Safer Sex HIV Risk-Reduction Interventions for African American Adolescents” was based on social cognitive theory, theory of reasoned action, and theory of planned behavior.

Although the article, “Effect of a Clinical Practice Improvement Intervention on Chlamydia Screening Among Adolescent Girls” does not state the foundational theories within the article, it follows the same model and intervention strategy as the HIV risk-reduction intervention for African American adolescents.

The three other articles, “A Randomized Controlled Trial Testing an HIV Prevention Intervention for Latino Youth”, “Interventions to Reduce Sexual Risk for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Adolescents” and “Efficacy of Risk-Reduction Counseling to Prevent Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Sexually Transmitted Diseases” contained interventions that were based mostly on the theory of efficacy.

Since the theory of efficacy is derived from the Social Cognitive Theory, all five articles share the theoretical foundations and framework of the interventions. The most effective and ideal intervention would be to incorporate as many different theories as possible to obtain accurate evidence and to propose the best solutions.