Factors prompting men subsequently diagnosed with chlamydia to use a sexual health service

Abstract

The development of strategies to increase screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in men requires an understanding of factors that prompt them to use medical services for sexual health purposes. We reviewed the records of all men diagnosed with chlamydia at the Canberra Sexual Health Centre (CSHC) between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2005 to determine what motivated them to attend. Of the 2599 men visiting the CSHC for any reason during the review period, 137 (5.3%) tested positive for chlamydia. The majority (54.7%) was in the 15–24 year old age group and 70.1% were heterosexual. Only four men (2.9%) identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders and four (2.9%) reported intravenous drug use (IDU) in the 12 months preceding their chlamydia test. Of the men, 10.9% were diagnosed with an additional sexually transmissible infection (STI) (i.e. either gonorrhoea, genital herpes or warts), 17.5% had previously tested positive for an STI including chlamydia or a blood-borne virus (i.e. either non-specific urethritis, syphilis, anal or penile warts, gonorrhea, hepatitisB, herpes simplex virus,HIV, or pubic lice) and 37.2% had already been screened for chlamydia at least once. The primary reasons for attendance were (1) symptoms in 54.0%, (2) a recent history of unprotected sex in 16.1% and (3) a partner with an STI in 26.3% (Table 1). The most