The findings show Peoria's rates are higher than state and national averages, and that race, education, poverty and access to care are among the key factors. Terlinde noted overall syphilis rates have increased four times since , and are highest among individuals in their 20s.
She said the higher concentration in the indicated zip codes increases the likelihood of choosing a sexual partner with an STI. Deric Kimler serves as the executive director for Central Illinois Friends, an organization that provides free sexual health testing, treatment, and services for those facing higher barriers to accessing care.
He said the region's STI rates suggest a number of things. When you don't talk about sexual health, when you just pretend the abstinence is the only way to protect yourselves, those are the locations in the geographical areas to have higher rates. Terlinde said disparities based on race, economic status, gender and gender identity, age and other characteristics have systemically presented obstacles to health care. I don't fall into that group. We need to focus on that: anybody who is at risk of an STI and having sex with multiple partners, you need to be tested.
Actually, that's not the case. Everything lowers your rates of transmission, but there's still always a chance of transmission during sexual activity. So we're having one-on-one education, to go in depth about how to give consent, how to gain consent, how to protect yourselves with the types of sex you're having. That's where it all starts. So that is on our radar, on why it did decrease.
Kimler noted that while Peoria and central Illinois rank comparatively high in the state and the nation, the U. But we don't want to talk about it, and because we don't talk about it, STIs have now become the leading cause of seven of the most common cancers in the United States.
