(P44) Redirection of a COVID-19 contact tracing program: A pilot to expand gonorrhea and chlamydia partner services

Background: Gonorrhea (GC) and chlamydia (CT) are sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that are often not investigated by public health departments. As a pilot program, the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH) trained COVID-19 contact tracers to investigate cases of GC and CT, with the goal of increasing partner services and education for people with GC and CT.



Methods: Seven COVID-19 contact tracers were trained to conduct STI case investigations on a part-time basis. Using an established SalesForce COVID-19 case management system, St. Louis County DPH built out a GC/ CT module to include data on GC and CT reported to DPH. The investigation process captured data on demographics, treatment, and partner contact information. Call format included educational information on STIs, where to receive treatment, and referals as needed.

Results: From June 2022 through January 2023, the team attempted 840 calls and reached 263 people (31% completion rate; 60 gonorrhea cases and 203 chlamydia cases). People with chlamydia were most cases contacted (77%). Of patients reached, 69% were female and70% were between 18-35 years old. Most patients lived in North St Louis County (62%) overlapping locations of higher STI rates, but North St. Louis County patients were reached with a lower rate of success (38% verses 54%). Of all cases reached, only 56% reported that they were treated, and the remaining were given guidance on how to get treated. Most cases were not comfortable providing partners’ names – 16 cases reported 16 partners in total.



Discussion: This pilot program shows that retraining COVID-19 staff for STI partner services is a promising approach for sexual health care at the local level. With delays in test result data, DPH was able to reach people before they got a call from their providers. Patients in North St. Louis County were less likely to be contacted indicating one area for targeted improvement. Though people were reluctant to give partner names, they were provided “tellyourpartner.org” as a notification tool. Anecdotally, team members reported that they provided patients with basic sex education, a gap that local public health can fill through this approach.