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Background: Remote Australian Aboriginal communities have among the highest diagnosed rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in the world. We did a trial to assess whether continuous improvement strategies related to sexual health could reduce infection rates., Methods: In this stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised trial (STIs in remote communities: improved and enhanced primary health care [STRIVE]), we recruited primary health-care centres serving Aboriginal communities in remote areas of Australia. Communities were eligible to participate if they were classified as very remote, had a population predominantly of Aboriginal people, and only had one primary health-care centre serving the population. The health-care centres were grouped into clusters on the basis of geographical proximity to each other, population size, and Aboriginal cultural ties including language connections. Clusters were randomly assigned into three blocks (year 1, year 2, and year 3 clusters) using a computer-generated randomisation algorithm, with minimisation to balance geographical region, population size, and baseline STI testing level. Each year for 3 years, one block of clusters was transitioned into the intervention phase, while those not transitioned continued usual care (control clusters). The intervention phase comprised cycles of reviewing clinical data and modifying systems to support improved STI clinical practice. All investigators and participants were unmasked to the intervention. Primary endpoints were community prevalence and testing coverage in residents aged 16-34 years for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis. We used Poisson regression analyses on the final dataset and compared STI prevalences and testing coverage between control and intervention clusters. All analyses were by intention to treat and models were adjusted for time as an independent covariate in overall analyses. This study was registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12610000358044., Findings: Between April, 2010, and April, 2011, we recruited 68 primary care centres and grouped them into 24 clusters, which were randomly assigned into year 1 clusters (estimated population aged 16-34 years, n=11 286), year 2 clusters (n=10 288), or year 3 clusters (n=13 304). One primary health-care centre withdrew from the study due to restricted capacity to participate. We detected no difference in the relative prevalence of STIs between intervention and control clusters (adjusted relative risk [RR] 0·97, 95% CI 0·84-1·12; p=0·66). However, testing coverage was substantially higher in intervention clusters (22%) than in control clusters (16%; RR 1·38; 95% CI 1·15-1·65; p=0·0006)., Interpretation: Our intervention increased STI testing coverage but did not have an effect on prevalence. Additional interventions that will provide increased access to both testing and treatment are required to reduce persistently high prevalences of STIs in remote communities., Funding: Australian National Health and Medical Research Council., (Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite two decades of interventions, rates of sexually transmissible infections (STI) in remote Australian Aboriginal communities remain unacceptably high. Routine notifications data from 2011 indicate rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea among Aboriginal people in remote settings were 8 and 61 times higher respectively than in the non-Indigenous population., Methods/design: STRIVE is a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial designed to compare a sexual health quality improvement program (SHQIP) to usual STI clinical care delivered in remote primary health care services. The SHQIP is a multifaceted intervention comprising annual assessments of sexual health service delivery, implementation of a sexual health action plan, six-monthly clinical service activity data reports, regular feedback meetings with a regional coordinator, training and financial incentive payments. The trial clusters comprise either a single community or several communities grouped together based on geographic proximity and cultural ties. The primary outcomes are: prevalence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas in Aboriginal residents aged 16-34 years, and performance in clinical management of STIs based on best practice indicators. STRIVE will be conducted over five years comprising one and a half years of trial initiation and community consultation, three years of trial conditions, and a half year of data analysis. The trial was initiated in 68 remote Aboriginal health services in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia., Discussion: STRIVE is the first cluster randomised trial in STI care in remote Aboriginal health services. The trial will provide evidence to inform future culturally appropriate STI clinical care and control strategies in communities with high STI rates., Trial Registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610000358044.

Objectives: To describe the key elements of a comprehensive sexual health program implemented between 2002 and 2005 in remote Indigenous communities on the Tiwi Islands and to assess its effectiveness in reducing rates of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs)., Methods: A descriptive study using STI notification and laboratory testing data to analyse the occurrence of STI diagnoses overtime compared to nearby similar regions., Results: Over the four years' of program implementation, the numbers of tests and individuals tested increased substantially and were sustained. The notification rate of chlamydia decreased from 1,581.3 to 80.0 per 100,000, that of gonorrhoea from 2,919.2 to 1,159.7 and that of syphilis from 1,743.4 to 200.0, representing a decrease of 94.9%, 60.2% and 88.5%, respectively. No similar trends in notification rates were observed in nearby regions. During the same time, the positivity rate (the number of positive tests divided by the total number of tests) of nucleic acid tests for gonorrhoea decreased from 5.9% (56/952) to 3.9% (39/1,004), and that for chlamydia decreased from 5.2% (38/1,003) to 0.3% (3/1,007), representing a decrease of 33.9% and 94.2%, respectively., Conclusion and Implications: The Tiwi Sexual Health Program was accompanied by a significant reduction in STI rates between 2002 and 2005. This model of a comprehensive sexual health program with a dedicated co-ordinator located within a Primary Health Care service can be recommended as an effective approach to address high rates of STIs in remote Indigenous community settings.

To evaluate a leucocyte esterase test as a predictor of gonorrhoea or chlamydia in asymptomatic Aboriginal males at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress Male Clinic (Ingkintja), first-void urine samples and clinical information were collected from consecutive asymptomatic males presenting to the Ingkintja in Alice Springs between March 2008 and December 2009. Urine was tested immediately with a leucocyte esterase test dipstick and then by polymerase chain reaction for gonorrhoea and chlamydia. Among the 292 specimens from asymptomatic males, 15.4% were positive for gonorrhoea or chlamydia. In this group, compared with polymerase chain reaction result for gonorrhoea or chlamydia, leucocyte esterase test alone and in combination with age ≤35 years showed sensitivities of 66.7% and 60%, specificities of 90.7% and 94.7%, positive predictive values of 56.6% and 67.5%, negative predictive values of 93.7% and 92.8% and the area under receiver operating characteristics curve values of 0.79 and 0.85, respectively. Leucocyte esterase tests can reasonably be used as a basis for immediate empirical treatment for gonorrhoea or chlamydia in asymptomatic central Australian Aboriginal men under 35 years of age. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among male clients of female commercial sex workers in Thailand. Risk of transmitting STD to commercial sex workers and noncommercial partners; Benefits of disease educational programs and intervention strategies; Implication for condom-use policy.

The aim of this study was to survey sexual behaviour and estimate the prevalence of urethral infections amongst male vocational college students. A cross-sectional survey was performed among 479 young men attending 2 vocational colleges in Hat Yai, southern Thailand. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests of first-void urine (FVU) samples were used to detect infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium and Mycoplasma hominis. Girlfriends were the usual sexual partners for 89% of men with only 11% regularly patronizing sex workers. Condom usage was low. The prevalence of any urethral infection was 15.9% with: C. trachomatis 4%, N. gonorrhoeae 0.2%, U. urealyticum 10.9%, M. genitalium 2.3% and M. hominis 1.3%. Infection with more than one organism was found in 2% of men. While the prevalence of infection with chlamydia or gonorrhoea was relatively low, the prevalence of 'any urethral infection' was moderately high and suggests that unprotected sexual intercourse is commonly occurring. As girlfriends were the most usual sexual partners, they must be at significant risk of pelvic infection. There is a need for programmes targeting this group of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a research study which reviewed the evaluations of the impact of sexually transmissible infection (STI) programs delivered by primary health care services in remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. The review identified four distinct STI programs the remote communities of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands of northern South Australia, Tiwi Islands of Northern Territory (NT), Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia, and the central Australian region of NT. Evidence showed reduction in the age-adjusted chlamydia and gonorrhea prevalence or positivity in the first three communities as a result of clinical best practice and well-coordinated sexual health programs.