Client and staff perceptions of acceptability of MyCheck: a direct-to-pathology telehealth and e-testing service for comprehensive bloodborne virus and sexually transmissible infection screening

Lise Lafferty; Clinton Rautenbach; Anna McNulty; Nathan Ryder; Carolyn Slattery; Rebecca Houghton; Aurelie Kenigsberg; Carolyn Murray; Nigel Carrington; Prital Patel

doi:10.1071/SH23194

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Client and staff perceptions of acceptability of MyCheck: a direct-to-pathology telehealth and e-testing service for comprehensive bloodborne virus and sexually transmissible infection screening

Lise Lafferty

^A ^B ^* , Clinton Rautenbach ^A ^C , Anna McNulty

^D , Nathan Ryder

^E ^F , Carolyn Slattery ^E , Rebecca Houghton ^D , Aurelie Kenigsberg ^G , Carolyn Murray ^H , Nigel Carrington ^D ^H and Prital Patel ^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

^B Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Level 1, Goodsell Building, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

^C University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa.

^D Sydney Sexual Health Centre, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, Level 3, Nightingale Wing, Sydney Eye Hospital, 8 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.

^E STI Programs Unit, NSW Ministry of Health, 150 Albion Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia.

^F The Pacific Clinic, Level 2/670 Hunter Street, Newcastle West, NSW 2302, Australia.

^G NSW Sexual Health Infolink, NSW Ministry of Health, Locked Mail Bag 2030, St Leonards, NSW 1590, Australia.

^H Centre for Population Health, NSW Ministry of Health, Locked Mail Bag 2030, St Leonards, NSW 1590, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: l.lafferty@unsw.edu.au

Handling Editor: Dan Wu

Sexual Health 21, SH23194 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH23194

Submitted: 5 December 2023 Accepted: 12 April 2024 Published: 29 April 2024

Abstract

Background

Sydney Sexual Health Centre (SSHC) is the largest sexual health clinic in New South Wales (NSW), servicing clients at high risk of sexually transmissible infections and bloodborne viruses. SSHC piloted a direct-to-pathology pathway that facilitated bloodborne virus/sexually transmissible infection testing at one of the ~500 participating pathology collection centres located across NSW. This qualitative study sought to understand SSHC client and provider perspectives of acceptability of the MyCheck intervention.

Methods

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 clients who underwent testing via the MyCheck pathway and eight staff members involved in implementing MyCheck. The seven components of Sekhon’s Theoretical Framework of Acceptability informed this analysis.

Results

Participants broadly conveyed ‘affective attitude’ toward the MyCheck pathway. The telehealth intervention reduced client ‘burden’ and ‘opportunity cost’ through enabling greater testing convenience at a location suitable to them and provided timely results. Issues of ‘ethicality’ were raised by clients and staff as pathology centre staff were, on a few occasions, regarded as being judgmental of SSHC clients. ‘Intervention coherence’ issues were largely attributed to pathology centre personnel being unfamiliar with the intervention, with billing issues being a recurrent concern. Participants perceived MyCheck as an ‘effective’ testing pathway. SSHC staff were able to offer the intervention with ease through seamless IT integration (‘self-efficacy’).

Conclusion

The MyCheck intervention was perceived by both SSHC clients and staff as an acceptable bloodborne virus/sexually transmissible infection testing pathway. However, further work is required to address stigma experienced by some clients when attending pathology collection centres.

Keywords: acceptability, bloodborne virus testing, digital health intervention, priority populations, qualitative research, sexual health, sexually transmissible infection testing, telehealth.

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