Women's knowledge and hypothetical acceptance of expedited partner therapy for chlamydia

Ashley Oglesby, Isabel Ricke, Alyssa Swenson, Grace Lyden, Stacey Moe, Victoria Doll, Ruby H.N. Nguyen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)502-507
Number of pages6
JournalSexual Health
Volume18
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Keywords

  • attitude and behaviour
  • chlamydia
  • expedited partner therapy
  • public health interventions
  • public health tools
  • sex education
  • sexual knowledge
  • sexually transmitted infections
  • testing
  • women

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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