Investigating The Need To Educate The Swinging Population About Their High-Risk Status For Contracting And Spreading Sexually Transmitted Infections

Abstract

This article aims to illustrate how swingers are uninformed about their high-risk status for contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections (STI's). Data on the prevalence of STI's among swingers in the United States is non-existent, but this paper provides evidence from research done in other countries that the numbers of STI's in the swinger population are significant. This paper also demonstrates that swingers are at a greater risk of transmitting STI's due to multiple factors. They have the potential to spread STI's at a quicker rate and to a larger number of people within a short time-frame. This article discusses various psychological and medical implications associated with a positive diagnosis of various STI's and provides suggestions, based on prior research in other populations, on ways to decrease STI's among swingers. Some of these methods include encouraging frequent and consistent use of sexual health services and having physicians provide information to patients regarding the factors that put them at risk for acquiring an STI.