World Contraception Day

 Two years ago, 2,295,739 cases of sexually transmitted diseases were recorded by the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC). It was a record high. 

Annually, half of all new cases of STDs are acquired by people aged 15-24, the age group most highly represented by students at Chadron State College. Locally, Nebraska STD program data from 2016 shows Dawes County, in which CSC resides, ranked third highest in Nebraska for newly diagnosed cases of chlamydia per 100,000 population (563.2). 

Each year on Sept. 26, World Contraception Day is celebrated as a way to raise awareness about contraception and safe sex. 

Millennials were dubbed the “hook-up generation” and there’s some debate as to whether they deserved the label and if the post-millennial generation have also carried that banner. But there’s no doubt that college-aged students are a high-risk group. Particularly when it comes to STDs and STIs. 

According to American College Health Association data collected from Chadron State in the spring of 2019, 52.9 percent of 269 students surveyed at the college answered that they had used a male condom the last time they had vaginal intercourse. But 47.1 percent reported they had not. 

Data regarding other forms of contraception wasn’t offered, but the study showed some positives for CSC. 54.3 percent of respondents answered that they had not engaged in unprotected sex when drinking alcohol, compared to 19.9 percent who said they had. 25.8 percent reported the question was not applicable or that they don’t drink. 

But when asked how often they or their partner used a condom or other protective barrier during vaginal intercourse within the last 30 days, 27.2 percent reported “never” and only 16.2 percent reported “always.” 

Again, the data does not ask about other forms of contraception, of which there are many. But regardless of how many contraceptive methods exist, there are still barriers young adults face when receiving quality prevention and services including funding, embarrassment and confidentiality. 

Though they declined to comment for this article, CSC’s Senate Health and Well-Being committee has made it possible for condom dispensers to be placed in the men’s and women’s bathroom of the Student Center and will later also make them available in the library bathrooms. 

An inquiry to CSC’s Health Services Office recommended Western Community Health Resources as another primary source for students looking to obtain services and education related to STDs, STIs and contraception. 

“We want to provide them with good education so they can make informed decisions so they don’t have consequences later that they have to figure out how to live with,” Family Reproductive Health Services Director Nicole Pourier said. 

WCHR’s office in Chadron is grant funded through Title X, a federal grant program meant to provide comprehensive and confidential family planning and preventative health services. 

Pourier said WCHR “pretty much cover the whole gamut,” with regard to offering low-cost contraception, including pills, the depo shot, IUD, nuvaring, condoms and more. 

Pourier said they also offer free testing and counseling, and if somebody should have positive results, they’ll offer further counseling and treatment. 

College students are not known for having ready access to funds, and treatment is not offered for free, but WCHR is able to combat that barrier by offering payment on a sliding scale based on income based guidelines.

“Based on how much money you make, that’s what you’ll be charged for your contraception,” Pourier said.

In order to break through another barrier, they also have options to keep the visit confidential. According to CDC research, nearly 13 percent of persons aged 15-25 years who are on a parent’s insurance plan have reported they wouldn’t seek reproductive health services for fear of their parents finding out. 

At WCHR, Pourier said clients are asked up front if they would like to use their health insurance or if they’d prefer to provide payment using the sliding, income-based, payment. Those choosing to use the health insurance of their parent are informed that doing so will result in the insurance provider being billed in a manner that would likely lead to their parent seeing the services that were obtained. 

Though WCHR can keep the visit confidential through having the client avoid using their parent’s health insurance, they encourage students to talk to their parents about the issue of contraceptives and reproductive health. They also provide counseling to help students approach that conversation. 

Pourier said students seeking services need only call the Chadron office to set up an appointment. 

“We’ll get them down the pathway with what’s best for them,” she said. “Our goal is to provide information about all the methods out there so they can pick the one that will work best for them.”

In addition to low-cost contraceptives and STI testing, WCHR also offers wellness exams, HIV testing and counseling, and educational programs. 

“It all comes down to safety,” Pourier said.