Sexual activity is an important part of a healthy and fulfilling life for many seniors, including widowed and divorced people who have recently begun dating again.
Some of these seniors may be less aware of the risks of STDs than younger people and less likely to use adequate protection against infection. Senior couples who no longer worry about becoming pregnant may be less likely to use a condom or to practice safer sex.
Additionally, many STDs can have more profound and lasting health consequences for older adults than for younger populations with stronger immune systems.
The Department of Health calls upon physicians and other medical professionals who provide care to the senior population to discuss the risks of STD infection with their patients and clients. Although many seniors visit their doctors more frequently, older people are less likely than younger people to discuss their sexual habits with their health care providers.
These downloadable awareness posters in English and Spanish are intended to help health care providers and other groups that serve seniors to communicate the risks of STD infection to the sexually active members of this population.
