By By: Alyssa Foster
Co-Editor
IU South Bend’s Health & Wellness Center is now offering take-home sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests for students to comfortably take care of their sexual health.
The take-home tests are identical to the ones offered in-clinic. However, they are now available for pickup, allowing students to perform the test(s) in the comfort of their own private spaces rather than in the clinic itself.
The STI tests are performed to check for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. Students with concerns for their sexual health are to schedule a telephone visit with a health provider at the clinic, during which they will determine which style of test is most fitting for them. The two options available include a urine test and a vaginal swab test.
“[Students] can pick up the kit from the Health & Wellness Center, then go home to collect the sample. They can collect the sample in the comfort and privacy of their own homes and return the sample by the end of the next business day for processing,” Brennan Lennox, Health and Wellness Center employee, said.
The idea of take-home STI tests came from Teri Dobrzykowski, the Director of Care Services at the Health & Wellness Center. With the option of taking the kits home to do the test, it is hopes that students will be more comfortable in their caretaking of their sexual health.
Students are still able to complete their tests at the Health & Wellness Center if they choose to do so. Those interested in more information about the take-home STI tests should contact the Health & Wellness Center at (574)-520-5557.
