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For Jennifer A. Winter, NP, the inspiration behind her doctoral research was never abstract. As a women's health nurse practitioner at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, Winter has spent more than twenty-five years delivering diagnoses that, in her view, should never have come as a surprise.

"Countless times it is knowledge that is missing," she said. "They unfortunately find out about many of the sexually transmitted infections after diagnosis, which ideally I want them to know about before they engage in intercourse."

Winter is a doctoral student in 17�Թ���’s Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing program at the Lienhard School of Nursing within the College of Health Professions, where she is conducting research under the mentorship of Sharon Stahl Wexler, PhD, RN, FNGNA, FNYAM, professor and chair of the PhD in Nursing program. Her study, "Assessing Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Biological Females Ages 14-24," examines whether short, social media-style videos can meaningfully increase STI knowledge and shift risk perception among a population that is both highly vulnerable and highly connected.

The study uses a longitudinal design in which participants complete a standardized knowledge assessment, the STD-KQ, before and after viewing a series of short educational videos. Follow-up assessments are conducted at six weeks, three months, and six months. The research also explores how social determinants of health influence knowledge retention and the overall effectiveness of video-based health interventions.

The logic behind the format is straightforward. Winter observed that the vast majority of her patients, particularly those in the fourteen-to-twenty-four age range, are active on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Rather than ask young people to seek out health information through unfamiliar channels, she designed content that fits naturally into the media they already consume.

"I believe in meeting a patient where they are," Winter said. "If that is a format that resonates with them, then it may make sense to meet them where they are."

She developed three videos, each just a few minutes long, tailored to different ends of the age range. For younger adolescents, the content draws on animation and peer-facing entertainment. For participants in their early twenties, the videos are more direct and text-forward, reflecting research showing that older members of this cohort increasingly turn to social media as a primary source of health information. One video features a recurring character named Cosa, an acronym for "condoms on when sexually active," designed to make the core prevention message both memorable and portable.

"If I can at least entertain you, I am getting your attention," she said, "and hopefully you will listen to the message and think about it."

Early results from a focus group were encouraging. Participants described the videos as entertaining, and Winter noted that several members of the group could still recall specific content and characters well after viewing.

"If I can at least entertain you, I am getting your attention," she said, "and hopefully you will listen to the message and think about it."

The research also addresses persistent misconceptions that Winter encounters regularly in clinical practice. Among the most common: the belief that sexually transmitted infections require penetrative intercourse to spread.

"Some sexually transmitted infections can be transmitted just through skin-to-skin contact," she said. "The thought being, ‘if my partner does not ejaculate in me, then I cannot get pregnant or get an STI.’ That is far from the truth."

Winter situates these knowledge gaps within a broader structural problem. The United States has no federal mandate for comprehensive sexual health education, leaving curriculum decisions to individual states and, in many cases, individual school districts. Her research has confirmed what her clinical experience long suggested: that the depth of a young person's sexual health education is heavily shaped by geography, and that the states with the highest STI and unintended pregnancy rates are frequently the same ones with the least consistent educational requirements.

"Where a young adult or adolescent lives does influence their exposure to STI resources and education," she said.

The videos will be available in both English and Spanish, and all study instruments have been translated accordingly, reflecting the linguistic diversity of Winter's patient population in northern New Jersey.

Winter expects to defend her dissertation in the fall. She credits Professor Wexler and her advisor, Professor Lin Drury, PhD, RN, FNGNA, FNYAM, along with her cohort and the resources of the 17�Թ��� library system, with helping her navigate the demands of doctoral study alongside a full-time clinical practice and raising fourteen-year-old twins.

"As a clinician, I think it is imperative, to be the best practitioner, to learn," she said. "This is just another way of me learning and improving patient care."

Learn more about 17�Թ���’s Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing program.