Survey on attitude to sexually transmitted disease testing among physicians in community health service centers of 20 cities in China

Abstract

Objective To survey the attitude to sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing among physicians in community health service centers (CHC) of 20 cities in China. Methods A cross-sectional survey using stratified random sample was conducted in September to December 2015, among 1 734 physicians from 158 CHCs in 20 cities of 6 provinces and 2 municipalities. Results The average age of participants was (39.7±10.6) years, the time for present position was (15.8±11.5) years, and 47.0% (799/1 700) were general practitioners (GPs). The survey showed that in the last month, 8.1% (138/1 699) of the physicians contacted with the specific of STD (sex worker, MSM, drug user, etc), and 18.3% (313/1 706) of them managed STD patients or provided services to suspected STD patients; 62.0% (1 048/1 689) of them received the STD-related training previously; 46.5%(784/1 686) thought the lack of training in STD testing as the biggest barrier for carrying out STD testing in CHC. As for the specific populations, 73.4%(1 241/1 692)of physicians thought that it was meaningful, 62.0% (1 043/1 683) of them worried about have difficulty to deal with their STD clinically , and only 5.8% (97/1 683) of them expressed their dislike of specific population . Conclusions Most physicians in CHCs believe that STD testing should be included in the routine tests, and it is feasible to carry out STD testing in CHCs. Lack of training is the main barrier for STD testing, so it is necessary to conduct STD testing related trainings in CHCs. Key words: Sexually transmitted diseases; Community health centre; Attitude of health personnel