Outreach services to brothels facilitate sexually transmissible infection testing for Asian sex workers in regional Australia
Joanna Mesure
A D and Nathan Ryder A B C
A HNE Sexual Health, Hunter New England Local Health District, Level 2, 670 Hunter Street, Newcastle West, NSW 2302, Australia.
B School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
C The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, High Street, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: Joanna.Mesure@health.nsw.gov.au
Sexual Health 17(3) 301-302 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH19213
Submitted: 22 November 2019 Accepted: 19 March 2020 Published: 22 June 2020
Abstract
Outreach services providing sexually transmissible infection (STI) testing on-site in brothels were introduced in 2012 by Pacific Clinic Newcastle, Australia. Asian female sex workers (FSW) were more likely than non-culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) FSW to access testing via outreach services than in clinics (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.82–3.11, P < 0.0001) and to test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhoea (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.58–4.20, P = 0.0001). Outreach services offering testing on-site in brothels are recommended to facilitate access for Asian FSW in similar settings.
Additional keywords: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, mobile clinics, screening.
References
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