PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Whitlock, Gary
AU  - Duke, Oscar
AU  - Nwokolo, Nneka
AU  - McOwan, Alan
TI  - P171 Active recall of high-risk msm by text message
AID  - 10.1136/sextrans-2015-052126.214
DP  - 2015 Jun 01
TA  - Sexually Transmitted Infections
PG  - A72--A72
VI  - 91
IP  - Suppl 1
4099  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/91/Suppl_1/A72.2.short
4100  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/91/Suppl_1/A72.2.full
SO  - Sex Transm Infect2015 Jun 01; 91
AB  - Background/introduction PHE recommends high risk MSM test 3 monthly. We introduced recall of high-risk MSM for HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing by short message service (SMS). Aim(s)/objectives To assess effectiveness of SMS recall by re-screening rate and number of incident STIs. Methods From January 2014, MSM who reported condomless anal intercourse with a non-regular partner in the last 3 months were offered an SMS 3 months later inviting them to rescreen. We compared the testing rate of the first 100 eligible MSM in the 12 weeks following SMS with a historical control group of 100 MSM who attended in January 2013. Proportions were compared using a two-tailed Z-test. Results Median age was 30 y (IQR: 26–36 y) for SMS group and 29y (IQR: 25–35 y) in controls. 44% of SMS group retested compared with 19% of controls (p < 0.001). 32% of SMS group were diagnosed with an STI at retest (14/44; SMS) vs. 16% (3/19; control). HIV was diagnosed in 2 of SMS group and 1 in control group at retest. Discussion/conclusion Active SMS recall for MSM is associated with a statistically significantly higher retesting rate. The high proportion of MSM with STIs at re-screening reinforces the importance of active recall, especially using SMS reminders which are cheap and easy to facilitate.