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"Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to explore the acceptability and uptake of on-campus screening using a youth friendly approach in two Third Level higher education institutions (HEIs). This study is part of wider research exploring the optimal setting for chlamydia screening in Ireland. METHODS:...

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Autores principales: Vaughan, Deirdre, O'Connell, Emer, Cormican, Martin, Brugha, Ruairi, Faherty, Colette, Balfe, Myles, O'Donovan, Diarmuid
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995465/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21070646
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-10-325
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author Vaughan, Deirdre
O'Connell, Emer
Cormican, Martin
Brugha, Ruairi
Faherty, Colette
Balfe, Myles
O'Donovan, Diarmuid
author_facet Vaughan, Deirdre
O'Connell, Emer
Cormican, Martin
Brugha, Ruairi
Faherty, Colette
Balfe, Myles
O'Donovan, Diarmuid
author_sort Vaughan, Deirdre
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to explore the acceptability and uptake of on-campus screening using a youth friendly approach in two Third Level higher education institutions (HEIs). This study is part of wider research exploring the optimal setting for chlamydia screening in Ireland. METHODS: Male and female students were given the opportunity to take a free anonymous test for chlamydia during a one week programme of "pee-in-a-pot" days at two HEI campuses in the West of Ireland. The study was set up after extensive consultation with the two HEIs and advertised on the two campuses using a variety of media in the two weeks preceding the screening days. Screening involved the provision and distribution of testing packs at communal areas and in toilet facilities. In Ireland, chlamydia notifications are highest amongst 20-29 year olds and hence the screening criterion was aimed at 18-29 year olds. Urine samples were tested using a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). Following the screening days, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with participants about their experiences of the event. RESULTS: Out of 1,249 test kits distributed in two HEIs, 592 specimens were collected giving a return rate of 47.5%. Tests excluded (54) were due to labelling errors or ineligibility of participants' age. Two thirds of those tested were females and the mean age was 21 years. Overall,3.9% (21/538) of participants tested positive, 5% (17/336) among females and 2% (4/191) among males. Participant interviews identified factors which enhanced student participation such as anonymity, convenience, accessibility of testing, and the informal and non-medical approach to testing. CONCLUSIONS: Screening for chlamydia using on-campus "pee-in-a-pot" days is an acceptable strategy in this population. This model can detect and treat asymptomatic cases of chlamydia and avoid many of the barriers associated with testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in clinical settings.
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spelling pubmed-29954652010-12-02 "Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland Vaughan, Deirdre O'Connell, Emer Cormican, Martin Brugha, Ruairi Faherty, Colette Balfe, Myles O'Donovan, Diarmuid BMC Infect Dis Research Article BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to explore the acceptability and uptake of on-campus screening using a youth friendly approach in two Third Level higher education institutions (HEIs). This study is part of wider research exploring the optimal setting for chlamydia screening in Ireland. METHODS: Male and female students were given the opportunity to take a free anonymous test for chlamydia during a one week programme of "pee-in-a-pot" days at two HEI campuses in the West of Ireland. The study was set up after extensive consultation with the two HEIs and advertised on the two campuses using a variety of media in the two weeks preceding the screening days. Screening involved the provision and distribution of testing packs at communal areas and in toilet facilities. In Ireland, chlamydia notifications are highest amongst 20-29 year olds and hence the screening criterion was aimed at 18-29 year olds. Urine samples were tested using a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). Following the screening days, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with participants about their experiences of the event. RESULTS: Out of 1,249 test kits distributed in two HEIs, 592 specimens were collected giving a return rate of 47.5%. Tests excluded (54) were due to labelling errors or ineligibility of participants' age. Two thirds of those tested were females and the mean age was 21 years. Overall,3.9% (21/538) of participants tested positive, 5% (17/336) among females and 2% (4/191) among males. Participant interviews identified factors which enhanced student participation such as anonymity, convenience, accessibility of testing, and the informal and non-medical approach to testing. CONCLUSIONS: Screening for chlamydia using on-campus "pee-in-a-pot" days is an acceptable strategy in this population. This model can detect and treat asymptomatic cases of chlamydia and avoid many of the barriers associated with testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in clinical settings. BioMed Central 2010-11-11 /pmc/articles/PMC2995465/ /pubmed/21070646 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-10-325 Text en Copyright ©2010 Vaughan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Vaughan, Deirdre
O'Connell, Emer
Cormican, Martin
Brugha, Ruairi
Faherty, Colette
Balfe, Myles
O'Donovan, Diarmuid
"Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland
title "Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland
title_full "Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland
title_fullStr "Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland
title_full_unstemmed "Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland
title_short "Pee-in-a-Pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the Republic of Ireland
title_sort "pee-in-a-pot": acceptability and uptake of on-site chlamydia screening in a student population in the republic of ireland
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995465/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21070646
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-10-325
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