'It has to speak to people's everyday life' : qualitative study of men and women's willingness to participate in a non-medical approach to chlamydia trachomatis screening.

Lorimer, K., Reid, M. and Hart, G. (2009) 'It has to speak to people's everyday life' : qualitative study of men and women's willingness to participate in a non-medical approach to chlamydia trachomatis screening. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 85(3), pp. 201-205. (doi: 10.1136/sti.2008.031138)

Abstract

Objectives To explore factors associated with men and womens 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 peoples 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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hart, Prof Graham and Reid, Professor Margaret
• Authors: Lorimer, K., Reid, M., and Hart, G.
• Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Centre for Population and Health Sciences
• Journal Name: Sexually Transmitted Infections
• ISSN: 1368-4973