Overview
This course examines the biology, transmission, prevention, and public health significance of sexually transmitted infections. Students study representative bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens, including their structure, replication, life cycles, host interactions, infectious periods, latency, persistence, shedding, and routes of sexual and perinatal transmission.
The course connects pathogen biology with mucosal barriers, immune responses, asymptomatic infection, co-infection, pathogen evolution, antimicrobial resistance, and epidemiologic patterns. Prevention strategies include barriers, vaccination, PrEP and PEP, treatment as prevention, partner services, harm reduction, prenatal interventions, behavioral strategies, and emerging biomedical approaches. Emphasis is placed on interpreting scientific evidence, communicating risk accurately, and applying principles of consent, equity, accessibility, and nonjudgmental care.
Learning Outcomes
- Compare the structures, life cycles, host interactions, and transmission processes of representative bacterial, viral, and parasitic STI pathogens.
- Explain how mucosal defenses, immune responses, treatment, vaccination, and prophylaxis influence infectiousness and transmission probability.
- Evaluate prevention options for diverse populations using biological, epidemiologic, clinical, ethical, and accessibility considerations.
- Interpret basic scientific and epidemiologic evidence concerning infectious periods, asymptomatic infection, shedding, co-infection, and prevention effectiveness.
- Identify biological, clinical, behavioral, and public health factors that contribute to antimicrobial resistance.
- Analyze limitations in simplified STI risk narratives and distinguish relative risk, absolute risk, uncertainty, and population-level patterns.
- Design clear, scientifically accurate, consent-informed, and nonjudgmental STI prevention messages for defined audiences.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Lab | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Fortnightly | All semester |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Quiz | Weekly knowledge quizzes (8 × 2.5%) | 20.00% |
| Assignment | Pathogen comparison and transmission analysis | 20.00% |
| Deliverable | Prevention communication design project | 20.00% |
| Test | Practical pathogen and epidemiology test | 15.00% |
| Exam | Final examination | 25.00% |
Prerequisites
- Requirement 12 NCEA Level 2 Biology credits, externally assessed
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
