Diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease and barriers to conducting pelvic examinations in Australian general practice: findings from an online survey

Helen Bittleston; Jacqueline Coombe; Meredith Temple-Smith; Deborah Bateson; Jill Hunady; Lena Sanci; Jane S Hocking; Jane L Goller

Journal article

Diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease and barriers to conducting pelvic examinations in Australian general practice: findings from an online survey

Helen Bittleston, Jacqueline Coombe, Meredith Temple-Smith, Deborah Bateson, Jill Hunady, Lena Sanci, Jane S Hocking, Jane L Goller

Sexual Health | CSIRO Publishing | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1071/SH20176

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Abstract

Background Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is under-diagnosed globally, particularly in primary care, and if untreated may cause reproductive complications. This paper investigates PID diagnosis by Australian general practitioners (GPs) and barriers to their conducting a pelvic examination. METHODS: An online survey investigating Australian GPs' chlamydia management, including PID diagnosis, was conducted in 2019. From 323 respondents, 85.8% (n = 277) answered multiple-choice questions about PID and 74.6% (n = 241) answered a free-text question about barriers to conducting pelvic examinations. Using multivariable logistic regression, we identified factors associated with conducting pelv..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Helen Bittleston Author

Jacqueline Coombe Author

Meredith Temple-Smith Author

Lena Sanci Author

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Funding Acknowledgements

This research forms part of the Management of Chlamydia Cases in Australia (MoCCA) project, funded by a NHMRC Partnership Grant (APP1150014). We wish to thank all GPs who participated in the survey for their valuable contribution. We also wish to thank the MoCCA partner organisations: Victorian Government, Department of Health and Human Services, NSW Ministry of Health, Queensland Health, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network, Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network, Family Planning Victoria, Family Planning NSW, True Relationships & Reproductive Health, Victorian Cytology Service Pathology and Sydney Sexual Health Centre.