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Background: During the months of April 2011 and April 2012 the Get Yourself Tested campaign was launched throughout the Cook County Health and Hospitals System to promote testing of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae(GC) among 15-25 year olds in a high prevalence urban community.
Methods: Retrospective data was collected and statistical analysis was performed in SAS 9.2 (SAS Institute, Inc. Cary, NC, USA). Chi square tests and student’s t tests were used to evaluate demographic differences by CT and GC positivity. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate factors associated with CT and GC status. All p value calculations were two-tailed, and an alpha level of .05 was considered statistically significant. Testing rates were compared to those during the same month in 2010.
Results: A total of 2,853 tests were conducted among individuals 15-25 years in April of 2011 and 2012. This represents a 36% and 44% increase, respectively, from April 2010 when 1,019 tests were performed. A total of 2,060 (72%) females and 793 (28%) males were tested. Of those tested, 488 (17%) individuals tested positive for either CT or GC or both, 400 (14%) were positive for CT, 139 (5%) were positive for GC. The rate for GC positivity was 8.8% (n=70) in males compared to 3.3% (n=69) in females (p< 0.0001), rate of CT positivity was 16% (n=127) for males compared to 13.3% (n=273) for women (p=.0569).
Conclusions: Women in a high risk population are more likely to get tested for STIs, however, men are more likely to test positive for any STI. GYT is an important campaign to encourage wider spread testing among populations at risk in Cook County.