Effective STI and HIV education goes beyond facts—it helps young people develop the knowledge, confidence, and communication skills to care for their sexual health without fear, shame, or judgment. This course builds your understanding of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV while preparing you to facilitate medically accurate, inclusive, and age-appropriate conversations that reduce stigma and promote informed decision-making.
Explore the most common STIs in the United States, including how they are transmitted, prevented, tested for, and treated. You’ll examine current trends in STI and HIV prevalence, the social and structural factors that contribute to health disparities, and the impact stigma has on prevention, testing, treatment, and overall well-being. Through interactive learning, practical teaching strategies, self-assessments, and real-world classroom examples, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to answer students’ questions while fostering conversations that normalize sexual health as a routine part of overall health and self-care.
Designed in flexible 25–30 minute modules, this self-paced course provides practical tools you can immediately apply to create engaging, evidence-informed, and shame-free learning experiences.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
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Describe the characteristics of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States.
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Explain how STIs and HIV are transmitted, prevented, tested for, and treated using current, medically accurate information.
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Identify populations disproportionately impacted by STIs and HIV and recognize the social and structural factors that contribute to health disparities.
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Explain the impact of stigma on STI and HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and health outcomes.
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Describe prevention, testing, and treatment as routine components of sexual health care and overall well-being.
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Identify reliable sources of medically accurate, evidence-informed information about STIs and HIV.
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Recognize strategies for facilitating respectful, inclusive, and culturally responsive conversations about STIs and HIV that reduce shame and stigma.
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Explain the importance of promoting body autonomy, healthy communication, and informed decision-making when discussing sexual health.