Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Date of Award

5-2020

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Advisor(s)

Melissa B. Harrell

Abstract

It is unknown whether express STI testing is as effective as comprehensive STI testing. The research aims of this study are: (1) to describe the patients who obtained a STI testing at the Kind Clinic between February 01, 2019 to January 31, 2020; (2) to determine the association between STI testing type and sociodemographic factors, clinically-relevant factors, and treatment outcomes; (3) to visualize time-to-treatment among STI type and testing types for comparison on a diagnosis-level and a patient-level. Electronic medical records were abstracted for 2,201 patients that received an STI test during February 01, 2019 and January 31, 2020 at the Kind Clinic in Austin, Texas. Patients were categorized into those who (1) only underwent express STI testing, (2) only underwent comprehensive STI testing, or (3) underwent both express and comprehensive testing. Bivariate analyses were performed to examine potential differences in patient demographics, clinically relevant factors, and treatment outcomes by testing category. Histograms were generated to examine time-to-treatment by testing category, too.

A significantly greater proportion of Asian or Pacific Islanders, females (those assigned at birth & those who identity as females), and straight individuals underwent express testing compared to comprehensive testing. Express testing had a larger proportion of unestablished patients compared to other testing modalities, a smaller proportion of individuals with a known HIV diagnosis, and a smaller proportion with an active PrEP prescription. Histograms showed that time-to-treatment outcomes were similar between express and comprehensive testing, and tabulations of treatment completion also showed no significant differences. Our study shows that express STI testing can be an effective alternative STI testing model for a high-risk population in a PrEP clinic, as per treatment outcome similarities between express STI testing and other testing modalities. Express testing may offer clinics an opportunity to reach a wider audience than traditional comprehensive testing does.

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