North carolina says, "get a STD test, then shop at walmart"
Samantha Cortez
In the U.S alone, the cases for positive syphilis have doubled over the past decade.
In Forsyth County of North Carolina, they nearly tripled over the past year.
Syphilis, the venereal disease that has spiked in America’s down economy, has proven to be more of an issue than some health officials have bargained for.
North Carolina in particular has seen rates fluctuate drastically and as a result, have decided to take affirmative action: giving ten dollar Wal-Mart cards for each person who gets tested for STD’s.
Some officials believe that the economy is a major cause in this disturbing trend. In states such as North Carolina, impoverishment, crime, unemployment, and the lack of health resources all directly influence the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
“When people are unemployed and living in poverty, they’re more likely to be desperate enough to engage in behaviors that contribute to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases,” director of the Forsyth County Department of Public Health, Timothy Monroe says.
Are Wal-Mart gift cards an effective way to go about encouraging people to get tested?
Out of the 603 people that were tested the weekend since the incentive began about half of them cited the gift card as the reason why they got up off their feet.
A similar program in the past, also in North Carolina, a distribution of McDonald gift cards was given in an attempt to coax residents.
As comical as this is, it is also ironic: State health departments promoting the consumption of greasy, fattening foods.
Is there a better way to go about this?
Arina Latham, a former teacher and alumni of Tuskegee University believes that the economy is not to blame for this sudden outbreak.“This is an issue of immorality, not the economy,” she states. “Younger generations need to have stronger morals to follow and parents need to work together to achieve this so that it won’t continue in the future.” It is precisely younger generations that are the main culprits of infections. These common ages range from nineteen to twenty-nine, and these are just the reported cases. Many people will carry the disease for many years with little to no symptoms before it is acknowledged, and by then it may be too late.
However, Maribel Mendoza of Kingsborough’s Health Education and Lifestyle Management (HELM) has a slightly different outtake of syphilis and what stimulates its growth.
“Awareness has everything to do with it. Not having the proper information on the disease, the way it’s contracted and spread, and how or where to get tested has an impact. Sometimes fear or even language can be a barrier.”
Mendoza goes on to say insurance is also an issue; not everyone can afford to get the blood work done. That is precisely why there are outside resources, such as HELM, that provide the means and opportunities to get tested for free.“It’s about being aware these programs exist,” she reinforces.
The Wal-Mart cards have since run out.
And what now?
Does the government intend to continue to keep providing them, perhaps spreading the bait to other states?
Or perhaps Burger King oupons next?
Regardless, it is a sad day indeed when people are tempted by a mere ten bucks to take a test that is ultimately for the benefit of no one but themselves. |
