THE ROLE OF NURSES IN PREVENTING SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS IN OLD AGE

Abstract

The objective of this study was to highlight the role of nurses in preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in older adults. This was an integrative literature review with a quantitative and descriptive approach. Scientific articles were selected from the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Virtual Health Library (VHL), and NCBI/PubMed (National Center for Biotechnology Information) databases. The analysis revealed a significant increase in STIs among older adults in recent years, primarily due to misinformation and taboos surrounding safe sex education. Furthermore, public policies, programs, and projects are needed to identify STIs early and mitigate their consequences. Nurses are also considered important in health awareness and education, as they are considered tools for empowering older adults in self-care, thus preventing future problems. The study concludes that the number of STIs among older adults is increasing. Therefore, there is a need to train health professionals in order to implement effective policies to prevent STIs in this population, aiming to reduce the number of cases and thus provide quality of life during aging.