Journal article
High chlamydia positivity rates in indigenous people attending Australian sexual health services
CC O'Connor, H Ali, RJ Guy, DJ Templeton, CK Fairley, MY Chen, BM Dickson, LJ Marshall, AE Grulich, ME Hellard, JM Kaldor, B Donovan, JS Ward
Medical Journal of Australia | WILEY | Published : 2014
DOI: 10.5694/mja13.10875
Abstract
Objective: To assess the clinical epidemiology of chlamydia among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) people attending sexual health services around Australia. Design: Retrospective analysis of routine demographic, behavioural and clinical data, between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2011. Setting: 18 sexual health services in major cities and regional centres in five jurisdictions. Main outcome measures: Attendance, chlamydia testing and positivity rates in patients visiting for the first time, and factors associated with chlamydia positivity. Results: Of 168 729 new patients, 7103 (4.2%) identified as Indigenous, of whom 74.3% were tested for chlamydia. Chlamydia positivity ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
ACCESS is a collaboration between the Kirby Institute, the Burnet Institute, the National Serology Reference Laboratory, and the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit. The ACCESS project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing from 2007 to 2010. It is now funded by the health departments of NSW, Vic, NT and ACT. Margaret Hellard, Rebecca Guy and Bridget Dickson receive funding support from National Health and Medical Research Council fellowships. The Burnet Institute acknowledges the contribution to this work of the Victorian Operational Infrastructure Support Program. We thank all the sexual health services that provided data for ACCESS (Appendix 3). We thank Matthew Law, Professor and Program Head, and Handan Wand, Senior Lecturer, Biostatistics and Databases Program, Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, who provided statistical advice.