Awareness campaigns tend to target sexually active youth, not older adults, so seniors may not be getting crucial education about how to stay safe when they're hooking up. Also, given societal stigma about sex in the elderly, they may face barriers in speaking to their own health-care providers about their sex lives or what STI symptoms look like.

Numerous studies have shown that older individuals are less likely to talk to their doctors about sexual health out of discomfort, the gender of the doctor (especially older male patients and young female physicians) and a wish to spare their doctors from embarrassment.

Doctors also report spending less time asking their older patients about sex. They also feel as if they lack sufficient education about sexual matters to be able to adequately counsel their older patients.