New York state’s launched its first sexual health dashboard last week to coincide with STI Awareness Week. The dashboard provides interactive data visualizations of the major reportable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in New York, including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.
STI Dashboard New York’s web-based platform renders statewide and county-level data more accessible to health care providers, policymakers, researchers, public health professionals and residents affected by STIs.
“Sexually transmitted infections sometimes do not manifest symptoms, therefore regular screening is helpful,” said the state’s health commissioner, James McDonald, MD, MPH, in a release. “I encourage people to talk to their sexual partners, find the right sexual health tools that work for them and get regular sexually transmitted infection screening and treatment if and when needed. The [New York State Department of Health] will continue to raise awareness and provide resources and education to stop the stigma surrounding STIs and protect and promote health equity for all.”
Users can explore interactive visualizations of these data, including trends and maps of new diagnoses and population rates at the county level, viewable by sex, age group and race or ethnicity.
STI Dashboard NY offers up-to-date information and statistics on STIs as well as news and insights from government agencies, including New York Department of Health surveillance reports and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
In 2023, young people, non-Hispanic Black individuals and men who have sex with men experienced the highest rates of STIs, according to the latest New York State STI Surveillance Report.
What’s more, there were 109,328 chlamydia diagnoses in New York in 2023, a 5.4% increase from 103,687 in 2022, according to the dashboard. During the same year, there were 46,120 gonorrhea diagnoses, a 6.3% increase from 43,368 in 2022.
“To ensure the prevention, treatment, and elimination of sexually transmitted infections, a more comprehensive community approach is needed,” the dashboard website reads. “A syndemic approach addresses the intersecting epidemics of HIV/AIDS, STIs, viral hepatitis, and substance use, and therefore is better equipped to tackle the inequities and health disparities that persist in New York.”
STI Dashboard NY follows the model of New York state’s Ending the HIV Epidemic and Hepatitis C Eliminationdashboards, which measure, track and disseminate actionable information on progress toward eliminating hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV as public health threats in New York and beyond.
The STI dashboard includes several resources to help users find general information and additional data on STIs, HIV and viral hepatitis, such as testing, treatment and prevention information. It also helps users locate sexual health clinics and other health-related services nearby.
Some types of hepatitis can be sexually transmitted. For example, hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be considered an STI. It is a highly contagious virus and may be present in blood and body fluids, including semen and vaginal secretions.
The CDC recommends HBV screening for all adults 18 and older at least once in their lifetime and periodic testing for people with STIs or multiple sex partners, considered risk factors.
While hepatitis A and C (HCV) are not considered STIs, they can be transmitted during some types of sexual contact. Although the risk of acquiring HCV through sex is generally low, it is higher among men who have sex with men, people with HIV and people with multiple sex partners.
Older guidelines recommended HCV testing only for people thought to be at increased risk, but current guidelines advise all adults to get tested for HCV at least once. In addition, women should be tested during each pregnancy, and people with ongoing risk—including people who inject drugs, people living with HIV, and gay and bisexual men who take HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—should be tested regularly.
STI Dashboard NY was designed and developed by the CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, Division of Epidemiology, the Office of Sexual Health and Epidemiology and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
To learn more, click #Sexually Transmitted Infection. There, you’ll find headlines such as “Federal Cuts Imperil the Collection of Data on HIV, Cancer, STIs and More,” “PrEPHer Urges Women: Know Your HIV Status and Protect Yourself” and “Half of Medicaid Beneficiaries With Hep C Had at Least One Comorbidity.”
