Women’s knowledge and hypothetical acceptance of expedited partner therapy for chlamydia
Ashley Oglesby A , Isabel Ricke A , Alyssa Swenson A , Grace R. Lyden A , Stacey Moe A , Victoria Doll A and Ruby H. N. Nguyen
A *
A Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA.
Sexual Health 18(6) 502-507 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH21157
Submitted: 17 August 2021 Accepted: 19 August 2021 Published: 20 December 2021
© 2021 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Background: Expedited partner therapy (EPT) for chlamydia can be an important public health tool to treat the sex partners of newly diagnosed individuals, especially when those sex partners are women of reproductive ages. Untreated and repeat chlamydia infections increase a woman’s risk for subfertility. This study aimed to determine the knowledge of EPT, and the factors associated with EPT knowledge, among reproductive-aged women.
Methods: Women aged 18–40 years were recruited for a community sample from a large state fair; 871 women completed a questionnaire for this study. Women reported on their knowledge of sexually transmitted infections, and about their knowledge and attitudes toward EPT. Using a hypothetical example, women were asked if they would accept EPT.
Results: This community sample of reproductive-aged women found overwhelming hypothetical support for chlamydia testing, partner notification, and partner treatment. However, only 12% of women reported having heard of EPT prior to the survey; once EPT was described, there were high levels of support for EPT and the belief that EPT could reduce chlamydia rates. Half of the women strongly agreed that EPT could reduce chlamydia rates, and 48% supported the state law allowing for EPT. Working in the healthcare field was the only independent determinant of prior EPT knowledge, increasing the odds of hearing about EPT by more than 2.5-fold.
Conclusions: Despite overwhelming support of the tenets of EPT, our results indicate that prior knowledge of EPT is low among women, meaning that education about EPT is needed for those outside of the healthcare field.
Keywords: chlamydia, expedited partner therapy, public health interventions, public health tools, sex education, sexual knowledge, attitude and behaviour, sexually transmitted infections, testing, women.
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