Article Text
Abstract
Objective To assess user preferences for different aspects of sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing services.
Design A discrete choice experiment.
Setting 14 centres offering tests for STIs in East Sussex, England.
Participants People testing for STIs.
Main outcome measure (Adjusted) ORs in relation to preferred service characteristics.
Results 3358 questionnaires were returned; mean age 26 (SD 9.4) years. 70% (2366) were recruited from genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics. The analysis suggested that the most important characteristics to users were whether ‘staff had specialist STI knowledge’ compared with ‘staff without it’ (OR 2.55; 95% CI 2.47 to 2.63) and whether ‘tests for all STIs’ were offered rather than ‘some’ (OR 2.19; 95% CI 2.12 to 2.25). They remained the most important two service characteristics despite stratifying the analysis by variables such as age and sex. Staff levels of expertise were viewed as particularly important by people attending CASH centres, women and non-men who have sex with men. A ‘text or call to a mobile phone’ and ‘dropping in and waiting’ were generally the preferred methods of results reporting and appointment system, respectively.
Conclusions This study suggests that people testing for STIs place particular importance on testing for all infections rather than some and staff with specialist STI knowledge. Thus, targets based purely on waiting up to 48 h for an appointment are misguided from a user perspective.
- Sexually transmitted infections
- preferences
- discrete choice experiment
- cost-effectiveness
- economic analysis
- evidence-based medicine
- psychology
- qualitative research
- sexual behaviour
- STD
- AIDS
- opportunistic infections
- opportunistic INF
- antiretroviral therapy
- AIDS conference
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Footnotes
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Funding This paper presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number PB-PG-0407-13211). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health or the Advisory Group members. Service support costs were provided by the NIHR Primary Care Research Network-South East.
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Competing interests None.
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Patient consent Obtained.
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Ethics approval Ethics approval was provided by Brighton West Research Ethics Committee.
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Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.