Sexual Health
Know Your Status.
Know Your Options.
STIs are rising fastest in adults over 50. Screening rates are falling. Most infections produce no symptoms. This hub gives you the clinical information, practical tools, and honest conversation you need to take your sexual health seriously — at any age.
Psychologist-authored · Peer-reviewed sources · Clinically grounded toolsSTIs, Screening & Sexual Health Basics
These articles address what every sexually active adult needs to know — and what most healthcare providers are not proactively discussing with older patients.
Complete Reference
The Complete Guide to Sexually Transmitted Infections
A comprehensive clinical reference covering every major STI — herpes, HPV, HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, trichomoniasis — including how each spreads, what symptoms look like (or don't), how it's tested for, and how it's treated. The foundational read for everything else on this page.
Screening
What Is on a Full STI Panel?
A standard blood test is not an STI screen. This article explains exactly what a comprehensive STI panel should include, why each test needs to be requested by name, how site-specific swabs work, and what the gaps in routine testing look like — so you can advocate for yourself in a clinical setting.
Prevalence · Over 50
STI Prevalence in Adults Over 50
The data is clear and largely ignored: STI rates in older adults have climbed sharply over the past two decades, while screening rates remain low and physician-initiated conversations about sexual health are rare. This article covers the epidemiological picture and what it means for you.
Healthcare Advocacy
Your Doctor Won't Bring It Up — So You Need To
Research consistently shows that healthcare providers rarely initiate conversations about sexual health with older patients. This article explains why, what the clinical consequences are, and exactly how to raise the topic with your own provider — including the language that works.
What You Need to Know About Specific STIs
These articles address the infections that most commonly affect adults over 50 — and the ones most commonly misunderstood, underdiagnosed, or carrying disproportionate stigma.
Herpes
Herpes Is More Common Than You Think
With HSV-1 seroprevalence near 64% and HSV-2 carried by millions of people who have no idea, herpes is arguably the most common and most stigmatized STI. This article covers the actual epidemiology, what the diagnosis does and does not mean, and how to think about risk and disclosure with clarity rather than shame.
HPV
HPV After 50: What You Need to Know
HPV is the most common STI globally — most people who are or have been sexually active will acquire it at some point. This article covers how HPV behaves in older adults, what the current evidence says about screening and vaccination past 45, and the specific concerns around cervical cancer risk in postmenopausal women.
HIV & Aging
HIV and Aging: What the Research Shows
HIV is not a young person's diagnosis. Seventeen percent of new diagnoses now occur in adults over 50, and older adults are being diagnosed later — often after the disease has progressed. This article covers HIV risk in older adults, PrEP eligibility, the experience of aging with HIV, and what makes this population clinically distinct.
Consent, Disclosure & Hard Conversations
Knowing your status is step one. Talking about it — with partners, with healthcare providers — is where many people stall. These articles address the clinical and ethical dimensions of disclosure and consent directly.
Disclosure
How to Tell Someone You Have an STI
Disclosure is one of the most anxiety-producing conversations in sexual health. This article covers when to disclose, how to prepare, what language tends to work, how to manage the emotional experience of the conversation, and how to respond to a range of partner reactions — including difficult ones.
Consent
Consent Is Not a Young Person's Topic
Consent is as relevant at 65 as it is at 25 — but rarely discussed in clinical or educational resources for older adults. This article covers the ongoing nature of consent, how to navigate it in established relationships, and the specific contexts where consent becomes more complex, including health changes and power dynamics.
Sexual Health in Complex Contexts
These articles address situations that are clinically important and almost never discussed openly — sex in residential care, sexuality and dementia, and what it means to navigate sexual health in environments that were not designed with older adults' needs in mind.
Residential Care
Sex in Retirement Communities & Long-Term Care
Older adults living in retirement communities and long-term care facilities retain the right to a sexual life — but institutional environments frequently fail to accommodate or respect that right. This article covers the clinical, ethical, and practical dimensions of sexuality in residential care settings.
Dementia & Consent
Sex, Dementia & Consent: A Clinical Overview
Dementia raises some of the most ethically complex questions in sexual health — about capacity, consent, protection, and the rights of people whose cognitive function has changed. This article addresses the clinical and ethical framework clearly and without avoidance, including guidance for families and caregivers.
Contraception After 50
Contraception is not just for younger adults. The perimenopausal transition is a common time for unintended pregnancy, and understanding your options — and when you can safely stop — matters more than many clinicians communicate.
Contraception
A Complete Guide to Contraception After 50
Covers the full contraceptive landscape for perimenopausal and postmenopausal adults — what is still needed, what the options are, how different methods interact with hormonal changes and health conditions common in later life, and how to know when contraception is no longer necessary.
Downloadable Tools
These tools are designed to be completed privately and brought to clinical appointments. They do the preparation work so the conversation with your provider can be specific and efficient.
Screening
Tool 1: STI Screening Checklist
A comprehensive tracking sheet covering every infection you should be tested for, with space to record test dates, results, and next steps by name. Includes a curated list of questions to ask your provider by name — because a standard blood panel is not an STI screen.
Disclosure
Tool 2: The Disclosure Planner
A structured four-part writing exercise to prepare for an STI disclosure conversation. Covers what to disclose and why, the specific fears underneath the avoidance, what you want from the conversation, and practical planning including how to open the conversation. Designed for private use before the disclosure happens.
Stigma & Beliefs
Tool 3: STI Stigma & Beliefs Reflection
A reflective exercise to examine the specific beliefs you hold about STIs — where they came from, whether they are accurate, and how they may be shaping your behaviour around testing, disclosure, and help-seeking. Based on cognitive-behavioural and psychoeducational frameworks.
Provider Conversation
Tool 4: Provider Conversation Prep
A structured preparation guide for your next appointment — covering what to disclose, what to ask for by name, what to say if the conversation feels difficult, and what information to bring. Designed so that the clinical conversation is efficient and productive, even if the topic has felt awkward to raise in the past.
Contraception
Tool 5: Contraception Decision Guide
A structured decision-support guide to help you think through your contraceptive options in the context of your current health, relationship, and life stage. Designed to be completed before a provider appointment so the conversation can be specific rather than starting from scratch.
Do It Now: Interactive Exercises
These tools let you start the work directly in the browser. They are starting points — the downloadable tools above go deeper, and a conversation with your provider or a therapist goes deeper still.
Interactive Tracker
STI Screening Status Tracker
Mark which tests you have had, which are due, and which you still need to request. Use this to walk into your next appointment prepared.
| Test | Status |
|---|---|
| HIV4th-gen antigen/antibody test | |
| SyphilisBlood test | |
| ChlamydiaUrine or swab — NAAT | |
| GonorrheaUrine or swab — NAAT | |
| Herpes IgGType-specific — must request; not in standard panels | |
| Hepatitis B & CBlood tests | |
| HPV / Cervical screenPap + HPV co-test, if applicable | |
| TrichomoniasisSwab — must request specifically |
Belief Reflection Tool
STI Stigma: Check Your Beliefs
These are common beliefs about STIs that affect testing, disclosure, and help-seeking. Select your response — then see what the evidence actually says.
Guided Writing Exercise
Disclosure Conversation Planner
A shorter digital version of Tool 2. Work through four steps privately to prepare for an STI disclosure conversation.
Step 1 of 4
What do I need to disclose, and what do I actually know about it?
Include what you know about transmission, current status, and any risk-reduction steps you are taking. Also note what you genuinely do not know — being honest about uncertainty is part of a good disclosure.
What am I most afraid of in this conversation?
Name the fear specifically. Then ask: is this fear based on evidence, or on the stigma I have absorbed about this diagnosis? What would I tell a close friend who came to me with this same fear?
What do I want from this conversation?
What would a good-enough response from my partner look like? What is the one thing I most want them to understand? What will I do if the response is hurtful or dismissive?
When, where, and how will I start?
Choose a calm, private setting. Write the first sentence you might actually say — not a perfect sentence, just one you could begin with. Having that opening sentence ready reduces the likelihood that you will avoid the conversation entirely.
Your disclosure prep summary
What you're disclosing:
Your fear:
What you want:
Your plan:
For the full exercise — including space to examine your fears in more depth — download Tool 2: The Disclosure Planner above. If this exercise has brought up significant distress, consider speaking with a registered psychologist before the conversation happens.
A note on this content: The articles and tools on this page are written by a Registered Psychologist and grounded in peer-reviewed research. They are educational resources, not a substitute for clinical assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have concerns about your sexual health, please speak with your family physician, a sexual health clinic, or a registered specialist. In Canada, sexual health clinic services are available without a physician referral in most provinces.