Abstract

Objectives: To explore factors associated with men and women’s willingness to provide a urine sample for Chlamydia trachomatis screening in various non-medical settings.

Methods: Men and women aged 16-24 years attending non-medical settings were invited to participate in urine-based screening and later participate in a follow-up in-depth interview. Participant observation techniques were also employed to collect data on young people’s response to the offer of screening.

Results: The views of 24 men and women revealed three themes, in relation to supports to willingness, particularly among men: their raised awareness of key features of chlamydia, particularly its asymptomatic nature, the convenience of the offer and the ‘non-medical’ nature of the screening. In contrast, women more often felt the public nature of the settings inhibited them from agreeing to take the test and thus acted as a barrier to their willingness to participate in screening.

Conclusions: The gender difference in willingness to participate in non-medical screening suggests extending the reach of screening could certainly assist in bringing more young men into screening but may not necessarily destigmatise screening for women. As such, the potential benefits to men must be considered in the context of the potential psychosocial harms to women.