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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 22(3)

Do Australian sexual health clinics have the capacity to meet demand? A mixed methods survey of directors of sexual health clinics in Australia

Christopher K. Fairley https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9081-1664 A B * , Jason J. Ong A B C , Lei Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2343-084X A B , Rick Varma https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0402-0506 D , Louise Owen E , Darren B. Russell F G H , Sarah J. Martin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9325-1647 I J , Joseph Cotter K , Caroline Thng https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1457-1539 L , Nathan Ryder https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2050-0155 M N , Eric P. F. Chow https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-0657 A B O # , Tiffany R. Phillips https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6920-7710 A B # and for the Australian STI research group
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia. Email: jong@mshc.org.au; lei.zhang1@monash.edu; tiffany.phillips@monash.edu

B Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

C Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London, UK.

D Sydney Sexual Health Service, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Email: rick.varma@health.nsw.gov.au

E Tasmanian Statewide Sexual Health Service, Hobart, Tas, Australia. Email: louise.owen@ths.tas.gov.au

F James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia. Email: darrenrussell@optusnet.com.au

G Deakin University, Geelong, Vic, Australia.

H Kardinia Health, Belmont, Vic, Australia.

I Canberra Sexual Health Centre, Canberra Health Services, Garran, ACT, Australia. Email: Sarah.Martin@act.gov.au

J School of Medicine and Psychology, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia.

K South Terrace Clinic, Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group, Freemantle, WA, Australia. Email: Joseph.Cotter@health.wa.gov.au

L Sexual Health Service, Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, Qld, Australia. Email: Caroline.Thng@health.qld.gov.au

M The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Email: Nathan.Ryder@health.nsw.gov.au

N Pacific Clinic, Newcastle Sexual Health, Hunter New England Local Health District, New Lambton, NSW, Australia.

O Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic, Australia. Email: eric.chow@monash.edu

* Correspondence to: christopher.fairley@monash.edu

# These authors contributed equally to this work

Handling Editor: Matthew Hogben

Sexual Health 22, SH25026 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH25026
Submitted: 21 February 2025  Accepted: 10 April 2025  Published: 6 May 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

The study describes the capacity of publicly funded sexual health clinics in Australia and explores the challenges they face.

Methods

We sent a survey to the directors of publicly funded sexual health clinics across Australia between January and March 2024. The survey asked about how their clinics were managing the current clinical demand.

Results

Twenty-seven of 35 directors of sexual health clinics responded. These 27 clinics offered a median of 35 (IQR: 20–60) bookings each day, but only a median of 10 (IQR: 2–15) walk-in consultations for symptomatic patients. The average proportion of days that clinics were able to see all patients who presented with symptoms was 70.1% (95% CI 55.4, 84.9) during summer versus 75.4% (95% CI 62.2, 88.5) during winter. For patients without symptoms, the corresponding proportions were 53.3% (95% CI 37.9, 68.8) during summer versus 57.7% (95% CI 41.7, 73.7) during winter. If these percentages were adjusted for the number of consultations that the clinic provided, then the corresponding numbers for symptomatic individuals was 51.0% for summer and 65.2% for winter, and for asymptomatic individuals it was 48.1% and 49.8%, respectively. The catchment population of the clinics for each consultation they provided ranged from as low as 3696 to a maximum of 5 million (median 521,077).

Conclusions

The high proportion of days on which sexual health clinics were not able to see all patients is likely to delay testing and treatment of individuals at high risk of STIs and impede effective STI control.

Keywords: capacity, chlamydia, control of sexually transmitted infections, demand, gonorrhoea, HIV, sexual health clinics, survey, syphilis, 2023.

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