Objective

Desired outcome

Outcome

Establish a chlamydia testing program among 16–25-year-old males and females in rural and regional Victoria

Increased chlamydia testing in young people in rural and regional Victoria

Twenty-nine sporting clubs were recruited and 709 participants were tested, of whom approximately 2 % were of Koori (Aboriginal) descent. Ninety-five percent were aged 16–24 years, with 50 % aged 17–21 years. Seventy-seven percent were male

Increased knowledge of chlamydia infection and sexual risk behavior

Participation rates on the night of recruitment were high (95.9 %; male 95.4 %, female 97.6 %). Eighty-six percent of participating clubs stated that the health of their members was the main reason for participating, with all participating clubs being highly satisfied with the project’s methodologies and management

Development of a cohesive system for testing and management of STIs in rural/regional Victoria that can be transferred to other regions

All participants were provided with information about sexual health and how to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections

Establish a collaborative network of sporting clubs, laboratories, and healthcare providers to participate in the program

A system to be established that enables the testing, communication of results and the management of a chlamydia infection to be provided to patients in an integrated fashion. Participants should be able to attend their local doctor, or regional community health/STI service or the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC)

Overall, 709 participants were recruited (and tested) by 28 local community health workers from 29 sporting clubs distributed across the Loddon Mallee region, with testing undertaken by their two large local laboratories

Enhance the capacity of community workers to conduct outreach work for chlamydia testing

Ensure community workers in the local region are appropriately trained so they can conduct the current study and be able to conduct the same or similar work in future years

Twenty-nine community health workers received training in STI education (including a basic overview of the detection, management and consequences of chlamydia infection), basic epidemiology, how to administer surveys and data and urine collection

Determine the chlamydia prevalence among 16–25-year-old males and females in rural and regional Victoria

Measure the prevalence of chlamydia in young people in rural and regional Victoria by collection urine samples after training

Of the 709 urine samples collected and tested (77 % males), 28 were positive for Chlamydia (19 males; 9 females). This young cohort was sexually active, with 77 % having experienced vaginal sex and 20 % having experienced anal sex at the time of the survey

Ensure the sample size was sufficient to achieve reasonably narrow confidence intervals for the prevalence figures

The overall prevalence of Chlamydia was 5.1 % (95 % CI 3.4–7.3) in sexually active participants—7.4 % (95 % CI 3.5–13.6) among sexually active females and 4.5 % (95 %CI 2.7–6.9) among sexually active males. Prevalence increased with the number of sexual partners in the past year

Only 19 % of sexually active participants reported having an STI test in their lifetime.

Describe the risk behaviors among 16–25-year-old males and females in rural and regional Victoria

A questionnaire administered asking about sexual and drug-taking risk behaviors

Sixty percent of males and 20 % of females consumed alcohol at short-term “risky” levels at least once a week. “Risky” levels were defined as females drinking > 4 standard drinks or males drinking > 6 standard drinks in the same day

Sixty percent had used drugs in their lifetime and 12 % had used drugs in the past month. The most commonly used drugs were marijuana (47 %), ecstasy (23 %), and amphetamines (16 %)

A system of testing developed with collection of behavioral information that can be linked to the chlamydia sentinel surveillance system in Victoria

Overall condom use was low with only 25 % using a condom the last time they had sex, despite 73 % reporting no problems in accessing condoms. After adjusting for age and number of new sexual partners in the past 3 months, the odds of always using a condom (in the past 3 months) were lower in those aged 20 years and above, males who had six or more sexual partners in the past year and those who used one or more drugs in their lifetime. Condom use was greater among those who had completed high school or had a higher level of education and those who had one new sexual partner in the past 3 months