Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres

Background: In high-incidence Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) settings, annual re-testing is an important public health strategy. Using baseline laboratory data (2009–10) from a cluster randomised trial in 67 remote Aboriginal communities, the extent of re-testing was deter...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hengel, B., Wand, H., Ward, J., Rumbold, A., Garton, L., Taylor-Thomson, D., Silver, B., McGregor, S., Dyda, A., Mein, J., Knox, J., Maher, L., Kaldor, J., Guy, R., McDermott, R., Skov, S., Boffa, John, Ah Chee, D., Law, M., Fairley, C., Donovan, B., Glance, D.
Format: Journal Article
Published: C S I R O Publishing 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54362
_version_ 1848759353138479104
author Hengel, B.
Wand, H.
Ward, J.
Rumbold, A.
Garton, L.
Taylor-Thomson, D.
Silver, B.
McGregor, S.
Dyda, A.
Mein, J.
Knox, J.
Maher, L.
Kaldor, J.
Guy, R.
McDermott, R.
Skov, S.
Boffa, John
Ah Chee, D.
Law, M.
Fairley, C.
Donovan, B.
Glance, D.
author_facet Hengel, B.
Wand, H.
Ward, J.
Rumbold, A.
Garton, L.
Taylor-Thomson, D.
Silver, B.
McGregor, S.
Dyda, A.
Mein, J.
Knox, J.
Maher, L.
Kaldor, J.
Guy, R.
McDermott, R.
Skov, S.
Boffa, John
Ah Chee, D.
Law, M.
Fairley, C.
Donovan, B.
Glance, D.
author_sort Hengel, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: In high-incidence Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) settings, annual re-testing is an important public health strategy. Using baseline laboratory data (2009–10) from a cluster randomised trial in 67 remote Aboriginal communities, the extent of re-testing was determined, along with the associated patient, staffing and health centre factors. Methods: Annual testing was defined as re-testing in 9–15 months (guideline recommendation) and a broader time period of 5–15 months following an initial negative CT/NG test. Random effects logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with re-testing. Results: Of 10 559 individuals aged ≥16 years with an initial negative CT/NG test (median age = 25 years), 20.3% had a re-test in 9–15 months (23.6% females vs 15.4% males, P < 0.001) and 35.2% in 5–15 months (40.9% females vs 26.5% males, P < 0.001). Factors independently associated with re-testing in 9–15 months in both males and females were: younger age (16–19, 20–24 years); and attending a centre that sees predominantly (>90%) Aboriginal people. Additional factors independently associated with re-testing for females were: being aged 25–29 years, attending a centre that used electronic medical records, and for males, attending a health centre that employed Aboriginal health workers and more male staff. Conclusions: Approximately 20% of people were re-tested within 9–15 months. Re-testing was more common in younger individuals. Findings highlight the importance of recall systems, Aboriginal health workers and male staff to facilitate annual re-testing. Further initiatives may be needed to increase re-testing.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:58:32Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-54362
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:58:32Z
publishDate 2017
publisher C S I R O Publishing
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-543622017-11-07T01:38:23Z Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres Hengel, B. Wand, H. Ward, J. Rumbold, A. Garton, L. Taylor-Thomson, D. Silver, B. McGregor, S. Dyda, A. Mein, J. Knox, J. Maher, L. Kaldor, J. Guy, R. McDermott, R. Skov, S. Boffa, John Ah Chee, D. Law, M. Fairley, C. Donovan, B. Glance, D. Background: In high-incidence Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) settings, annual re-testing is an important public health strategy. Using baseline laboratory data (2009–10) from a cluster randomised trial in 67 remote Aboriginal communities, the extent of re-testing was determined, along with the associated patient, staffing and health centre factors. Methods: Annual testing was defined as re-testing in 9–15 months (guideline recommendation) and a broader time period of 5–15 months following an initial negative CT/NG test. Random effects logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with re-testing. Results: Of 10 559 individuals aged ≥16 years with an initial negative CT/NG test (median age = 25 years), 20.3% had a re-test in 9–15 months (23.6% females vs 15.4% males, P < 0.001) and 35.2% in 5–15 months (40.9% females vs 26.5% males, P < 0.001). Factors independently associated with re-testing in 9–15 months in both males and females were: younger age (16–19, 20–24 years); and attending a centre that sees predominantly (>90%) Aboriginal people. Additional factors independently associated with re-testing for females were: being aged 25–29 years, attending a centre that used electronic medical records, and for males, attending a health centre that employed Aboriginal health workers and more male staff. Conclusions: Approximately 20% of people were re-tested within 9–15 months. Re-testing was more common in younger individuals. Findings highlight the importance of recall systems, Aboriginal health workers and male staff to facilitate annual re-testing. Further initiatives may be needed to increase re-testing. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54362 10.1071/SH16123 C S I R O Publishing restricted
spellingShingle Hengel, B.
Wand, H.
Ward, J.
Rumbold, A.
Garton, L.
Taylor-Thomson, D.
Silver, B.
McGregor, S.
Dyda, A.
Mein, J.
Knox, J.
Maher, L.
Kaldor, J.
Guy, R.
McDermott, R.
Skov, S.
Boffa, John
Ah Chee, D.
Law, M.
Fairley, C.
Donovan, B.
Glance, D.
Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
title Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
title_full Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
title_fullStr Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
title_full_unstemmed Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
title_short Patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
title_sort patient, staffing and health centre factors associated with annual testing for sexually transmissible infections in remote primary health centres
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54362