Effects of psycho-educational interventions an sexual health risks and psycho-social adaptation in young adults with genital herpes

The purpose of this study was to test the outcomes of group psyche-educatio nal intervention (PEI) led by nurses on sexual health risks (knowledge, beh aviour, disease burden) and psyche-social adaptation (depression, mood stat es, self-efficacy) in young adults with the chronic disease, genital herpes , Two hundred and fifty-two young adults with symptomatic genital herpes pa rticipated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), The intervention was par ticipation in a three-session group PEI facilitated by a nurse in the commu nity. Participants completed questionnaires measuring sexual health risks ( herpes knowledge, sexual risk behaviour, disease burden of patterns of recu rrences of outbreaks of the disease), and psyche-social adaptation (depress ion using the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI], mood states using the Profil e of Mood States [POMS], and feelings of self-efficacy for protection from sexually transmitted diseases [PSTD]) at induction into the study, and at 3 and 6 months. Participants were mainly employed, Caucasian, single women i n their twenties (X = 27.1 years, SD = 4.3), with some college education; 2 3% of the sample were men. After controlling for baseline knowledge about g enital herpes, the experimental group had significantly more knowledge than the control group at 3 and 6 months' post-intervention, They also reported using condoms and spermicides to prevent the spread of genital herpes more often than did the control group. The implications for nurses in the commu nity include the following: (a) PEI is an intervention that can be used by nurses in the community with a high-risk population; (b) group intervention is a viable treatment for people with a highly stigmatized, chronic sexual ly transmitted disease (STD); and (c) further testing of the use of PEI by nurses in the community with other high-risk populations is needed.