Dataset Information

Observational study of factors associated with return of home sampling kits for sexually transmitted infections requested online in the UK.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To investigate factors associated with the return of home sampling kits for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Setting

Online STI testing service offered to the residents of Birmingham and Solihull.

Participants

All patients requesting STI home sampling kits via the Umbrella sexual health service website between 15 July 2016 and 14 December 2016.

Interventions

Associations between data collected at online registration and the rate of return of STI home sampling kits within 30 days of request was assessed.

Results

A total of 5310 kits were requested, of which 3099 (58.4%) were returned to the medical microbiology laboratory. On multivariable analysis, women and men who have sex with men were similarly likely to return their sampling kits (adjusted OR (OR_adj) 1.06, 95%?CI 0.86 to 1.30), while heterosexual men were significantly less likely to return their sampling kits (OR_adj 0.63, 95%?CI 0.55 to 0.72, p<0.001?vs women). Patients reporting symptoms were also less likely to return kits (OR_adj 0.77, 95%?CI 0.67 to 0.89, p=0.001?vs asymptomatic patients). Kits that were delivered to the patient's home, rather than to a clinic or pharmacy (p<0.001), and those requested from less economically deprived neighbourhoods (p=0.029) were significantly more likely to be returned.

Conclusion

STI self-sampling testing kits delivered to patients' homes are most likely to be returned. Heterosexual men and those from more economically deprived areas are the less likely groups to return the kits. Further research on the barriers to return self-sampling STI testing kits of these subgroups of patients is warranted.

Trial registration number

Registered with R&D department at University Hospitals Birmingham; CARMS-13551.

SUBMITTER: Manavi K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5665267 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Observational study of factors associated with return of home sampling kits for sexually transmitted infections requested online in the UK.

Manavi Kaveh K Hodson James J

BMJ open 20171022 10

<h4>Objectives</h4>To investigate factors associated with the return of home sampling kits for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).<h4>Setting</h4>Online STI testing service offered to the residents of Birmingham and Solihull.<h4>Participants</h4>All patients requesting STI home sampling kits via the Umbrella sexual health service website between 15 July 2016 and 14 December 2016.<h4>Interventions</h4>Associations between data collected at online registration and the rate of return of STI hom ...[more]

PMID: 29061625

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Project description:OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the validity and acceptability of at-home self-collection to test for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and sexually transmitted infections among women overdue for cervical cancer screening by national guidelines. METHODS:Low-income, infrequently screened women were recruited from the general population in North Carolina to participate in an observational study. Participants provided two self-collected cervicovaginal samples (one at home and one in the clinic) and a clinician-collected cervical sample. Samples were tested for high-risk HPV, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium. Cervical samples were also tested by liquid-based cytology. RESULTS:Overall, 193 women had conclusive high-risk HPV results for all three samples and cytology results. Prevalence of high-risk HPV within self-home samples (12.4%) was not different from that within clinician samples (11.4%; P=.79) and from that within self clinic samples (15.5%; P=.21). Positivity for high-risk HPV in all sample types increased with increasing grades of cervical abnormality (P<.001). Self-home samples detected high-risk HPV in all identified cases of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or worse. Detection was comparable across sample types for T vaginalis (range 10.2-10.8%), M genitalium (3.3-5.5%), C trachomatis (1.1-2.1%), and N gonorrhoeae (0-0.5%). Kappa values between sample types ranged from 0.56 to 0.66 for high-risk HPV, 0.86-0.91 for T vaginalis, and 0.65-0.83 for M genitalium. Most participants reported no difficulty understanding self-collection instructions (93.6%) and were willing to use self-collection in the future (96.3%). CONCLUSION:Mail-based, at-home self-collection for high-risk HPV and sexually transmitted infection detection was valid and well accepted among infrequently screened women in our study. These findings support the future use of high-risk HPV self-collection to increase cervical cancer screening rates among higher risk women in the United States.

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Dataset Information

Observational study of factors associated with return of home sampling kits for sexually transmitted infections requested online in the UK.

Objectives

Setting

Participants

Interventions

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration number

Publications

Observational study of factors associated with return of home sampling kits for sexually transmitted infections requested online in the UK.

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