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CDC’s STD Awareness Month Resources
Check out CDC's awesome suite of resources for STD Awareness Month and a Dear Colleague Letter from Dr. Gail Bolan, Director of the Division of STD Prevention at CDC.
STD Awareness Month (April) is just a few short weeks away. In case you missed it, the CDC’s STD Awareness Month plan (including resources) is included below. They are taking a slightly different approach this year, and, instead of one central theme, have updated four of their most popular, previous campaigns. Each of the four campaigns includes sample social media content, graphics, and audience-specific messaging. There are also some new helpful tools for this year:
- They’ve created a digital toolkit to help you with planning your STD Awareness Month activities. The toolkit outlines each campaign’s theme and target audiences, and the corresponding materials available. It also includes tips on how to use the campaigns to enhance any planned activities, things to consider during implementation, and some helpful resources (including our Provider Guide).
- In addition to the refreshed content and graphics, they have developed widgets and customizable articles for each campaign. The customizable articles can be modified to include a jurisdiction’s data and optional quotes from local leadership. They can then be easily shared with other partners, local decision makers, or the general public.
- They’ve also reorganized their General Resources page to make it more user-friendly, and now include many of our NCSH materials and tools in this section.
The below Dear Colleague letter was issued on NPIN from Dr. Gail Bolan, CDC -Division of STD Prevention, on March 19, 2019.
Dear Colleagues,
Each April, we observe STD Awareness Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about what STDs are; how they impact our lives; and why prevention, testing, and treatment are so important. But, STD Awareness Month is about more than awareness: it’s also about action.
CDC is committed to ensuring you have the tools needed to take action where you live. As previously announced, we are taking a slightly different approach this year. Instead of developing a single-themed campaign, four of our most popular campaigns have been updated for your use. All four are now available on the STD Awareness Month website.
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STD prevention needs are as diverse as the people within our communities.
We face a growing STD burden nationally; however, communities across the nation face their own unique STD burden. Therefore, each campaign includes materials and products that can be tailored to fit the needs of the people you serve. Download the STD Awareness Month toolkit to assist with planning.
This year’s STD Awareness Month brings with it increased urgency. STDs continue to surge–endangering the health of too many across the country. In 2017, more than 2 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were diagnosed – and even newborn syphilis cases have more than doubled in recent years.
These data mean our work is more important than ever – and we can all get involved. CDC and other federal organizations, community leaders, health departments, community-based organizations, health care providers, and individuals can all take action at work, in our schools and communities, and at home to make a difference.
While those actions might differ from group-to-group, everyone should stand up to STD-related stigma, fear, and discrimination. These barriers keep people from taking the steps needed to protect themselves, their loved ones, their patients, and their communities. They hold too much power over our health, but with our collective voices, we can raise awareness, normalize STD prevention – and begin to take that power back.
Thank you for your unwavering commitment to STD prevention.
/Gail Bolan/
Gail Bolan, MD
Director
Division of STD Prevention
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/std
/Jonathan Mermin/