STD Wizard

The STD Wizard is an publicly available expert system for determining which screening tests, vaccinations, and evaluations are recommended, related to sexually transmitted diseases. The information included within the STD Wizard is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines - 2002".

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The STD Wizard runs in a web browser. The program asks a series of questions, related to demographics, behaviors, and symptoms. There are potentially over 100 questions, but most users get asked about 20. The exact questions asked depend on the user's responses. For example, some questions are only asked of females, others of males. Typical questions include:

• Demographics - How old are you, in years?
• Behaviors - Have you had more than one sex partner within the past six months?
• Symptoms - Are you having a discharge from your penis or burning during urination?

After asking all needed questions, the program displays a list of recommendations, related to screening tests, vaccinations, and evaluations. Typical recommendations include:

• Screening tests - HIV screening test
• Vaccinations - Hepatitis B vaccination
• Evaluations - Seek medical attention in the next week for rash

There are two main parts to the program. The first is a "logic file", which contains all the potential questions, responses, recommendations, and logic. The second is an "inference engine", which reads the logic file to figure out which questions to ask and provides the recommendations at the end. The STD Wizard was developed by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health and Expert Health Data Programming, Inc., with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. The information in the updated "Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines - 2006" is being reviewed for inclusion into the STD Wizard.