Factors associated with consenting to receive an automated email summary following a sexual health clinic visit.

Abstract

Electronic health records allow for inexpensive communication with patients. In March 2021, the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) implemented an automated email summary ("Sexual Health Automated Visit Email" (SHAVE)) of a client's visit. This study evaluates the proportion of attendees at a sexual health service who opted in or out of SHAVE. This study was conducted at MSHC in Australia between March 2021 and June 2022. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to examine the client characteristics associated with consenting to SHAVE. There were 18,528 clients (men: 12,700, women: 5,828) included in the final analysis and 55.2% (n = 10,233) consented to receiving SHAVE. Comparing to those who did not have a new STI diagnosis, clients with a new diagnosis of an STI, but not HIV, had lower odds of consenting to receiving SHAVE (chlamydia [aOR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.57-0.72]; gonorrhoea [aOR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.62-0.82]; syphilis [aOR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.59-0.96]). Men had lower odds of consenting when compared to women (MSW [aOR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.71-0.84] and MSM [aOR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.62-0.75]). Comparing to those born in Australia or Oceania, clients born in Europe had lower odds of consenting (aOR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.70-0.94) , whilst those born in Latin America or Caribbean had higher odds of consenting (aOR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04-1.51). Email summaries may serve as a valuable strategy to improve health communication and record keeping for clients. Understanding the client characteristics associated with consenting SHAVE will allow for the implementation of strategies to better communicate with clients.