Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States
PURPOSE:
Persons
aged 15-25 years have high sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates and
suboptimal screening. There has been limited research analyzing barriers to STI
testing at a national level. We examined STI testing among
15-25 year olds and reasons for not testing.
METHODS:
We used
data from a national survey of youth. Bivariate and multivariable analyses
examined differences in testing behaviors by demographics, separately by sex.
Among sexually experienced respondents who reported never being tested, health
system-related reasons for not testing were examined in bivariate and
multivariable analyses.
RESULTS:
Females
(16.6%) were more likely to have ever been tested compared with males (6.1%,
p < .01) in the last 12 months. Among sexually experienced
respondents who were never tested, 41.8% did not seek testing because they felt
they were not at risk for STIs. Males (60.1%) had significantly higher reports
of foregoing testing for confidentiality reasons compared with females (39.9%,
p < .01). Non-Hispanic whites (44.9%) the highest reports of this compared
with other ethnic/racial groups (p < .01).
CONCLUSIONS:
This
national-level study found that most of the 15-25 year olds never received
an STI test. In addition, confidentiality concerns may deter youth from seeking
STI testing. Appropriate strategies to minimize these concerns may be useful.
Potential strategies to ameliorate these issues may include engaging clinicians
who frequently serve adolescents and young adults to address confidentiality
issues with youth patients.
- 1Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. Electronic address: kcuffe@cdc.gov.
- 2Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
- J Adolesc Health. 2016 Mar 14. pii: S1054-139X(16)00019-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.01.002.
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