(P40) STI Rates among Patients Tested at a Community-Based Organization Before, During, and After CoVID Shutdowns

Background

The SARS-COV2 pandemic (CoVID) significantly affected trends in sexually transmitted infections (STIs). During the pandemic, BAO, a community-based HIV service organization in Birmingham, Alabama, immediately implemented strategies to ensure there were no lapses in STI testing services. The objective of this study is to evaluate testing and positivity rates for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) before, during, and after implementation of take-home, self-administered STI testing kits at BAO.

Methods

During the CoVID pandemic shutdown, take-home STI testing kits were distributed to patients at BAO. Samples were self-collected and returned to a conveniently located drop box for lab processing. BAO testing data was evaluated from January 2019 – December 2022. We defined the pre-, during, and post-shutdown/restriction periods as January 2019 – 14 March 2020 (pre-), 15 March 2020 – 15 January 2021(during), and 16 January 2021 – 31 December 2022 (post), respectively. We examined test volume and positivity rates during each period using patients’ first visit data for that period.

Results

The monthly number of CT and NG tests was 139 in the pre-period, 45 in the during-period, and 63 in the post-restriction period.

For women, CT was detected in 62/724 (8.6%), 21/213 (9.9%), and 61/622 (9.8%) in the pre-, during and post-restriction periods, respectively (p=NS). NG was detected in 41/724 (5.7%), 13/213 (6.1%), and 28/622 (4.5%) in the pre-, during and post-restriction periods, respectively (p=NS).

Among men, CT was detected in 103/1087 (9.5%), 30/284 (10.6%), and 87/896 (9.7%) in the pre-, during and post-restriction periods, respectively (p=NS). NG was detected in 90/1087 (8.3%), 30/284 (10.6%), and 76/896 (8.5%) in the pre-, during and post-restriction periods, respectively (p=NS).

Conclusions

Despite the challenges of access during CoVID, a community-based organization was able to offer different access strategies and continued to identify infections at rates similar to those before CoVID. No steep increase in rates following resumption of routine services suggests that the CoVID period process did not miss a substantial number of infections using the novel strategies.