Brief Encounters
BIG BROTHER SHOULD BE WATCHING
With the steeply rising STI prevalence seen today in many countries should we not be directing resources to finding out which sexual behaviours are bad for our health? That is, who is indulging in such unhealthy behaviour, how are these changing over time, and what key behaviours we are failing to collect and why? See p 398
WHO PAYS FOR FORESIGHT?
Screening for chlamydia, rather than testing symptomatic women, is cost saving even when prevalence falls to 1.1% if the appropriate age and tests are chosen. However, such interpretations depends on unvalidated assumptions. And of course costs saved by a later generation are incurred by earlier ones. Also, offering chlamydia testing to women undergoing termination of pregnancy has, unsurprisingly, a high pickup rate. Asking the women to pay a …
