Article Text
Abstract
Background The iwantthekit (IWTK) Internet screening program offered an opportunity to study characteristics of men who seek rescreening, as well as determine reported infected status at the previous screening.
Methods We determined characteristics of male repeat users from questionnaires. Predictors of repeat users were identified in a matched case-control study by conditional logistic regression analysis. A case was defined as reporting ever having used IWTK before. A control was a user who reported never using the program before. Two controls were systematically sampled for each case by matching the date of use IWTK of the case within 3 months.
Results During 2007–2010, 115 (14%) of 852 men who used IWTK for STI testing, indicated that they had used IWTK previously. Among them, 43% used it >2 times. Mean age was 25.8 yr ±8.5 yr, and 90% were currently sexually active. 17% reported having sex with a male; 35% had >5 partners in the past yr; 58% had new partners in last 3 months; 49% currently were having sex >1 person. 63% had been treated for an STI: chlamydia (CT)(74%), trichomonas (TV)(42%) and gonorrhoea (GC)(23%); 6 reported being treated for HIV. By matching time of enrolment, 230 controls were selected. In the multivariate analysis, repeat IWTK users were more likely to be <30 years (OR=2.04, 95% CI 1.04 to 4.02), have health insurance (OR=2.01, 95% CI 1.10 to 3.69), reported ever being tested for an STI (OR=2.01, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.97), ever been treated for an STI (OR=2.20, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.23), particularly TV (OR=5.16, 95% CI 1.80 to 14.81), and less likely to have penile discharge currently (OR=0.24, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.76). Of male repeaters, 80.9% reported previous test results from IWTK as negative and 22/115 (19.1%) reported previous result positive–11 had CT, 4 had GC, 8 had TV; 2 of these were mixed infections. At present test, 24 tested positive–19 had CT, 3 had GC, 5 had TV; 3 were mixed infections. Reported CT positivity in last test was associated with current CT test positivity (p<0.05).
Conclusions The Internet screening program IWTK attracted a number of previous male users of IWTK, who practiced high-risk sexual behaviours, to use the program for repeat STI testing. IWTK provided an alternate approach for rescreening previously infected men as well as men reporting high-risk behaviours.