Urine testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and hassle-free follow-up is acceptable to street youth.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether street youth would use a sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening program involving non-nominal, noninvasive testing of urine for Chlamydia trachomatis with hassle-free follow-up and partner self-notification.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional pilot study in six centres frequented by street youth 13 to 25 years of age in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton.

INTERVENTIONS

A structured, non-nominal face-to-face interview using an 88-item questionnaire was administered by a trained research assistant. Immediate feedback was provided to participants about specific individual risk reduction strategies for high risk life styles. Each street youth provided a urine sample that was tested non-nominally for C trachomatis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A single dose of azithromycin therapy was provided to participants who tested positive, each of whom was requested to encourage recent sexual partners to come forward for testing and treatment.

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty-three street youth were recruited (98 males and 65 females [male to female ratio 1.5:1]) over the four months of the study. The mean ages of participants were males 18.3+/-2.50 years and females 16.7+/-2.02 years. Ninety-two per cent (146) of all participants were sexually active and 99% of the sexually active youth (145 of 146) submitted urine samples. Urine samples were positive in 12 (8.2%) participants (seven males, five females), all of whom were asymptomatic. All those who tested positive were recruited from a single site (site specific rate 13.6%). Overall, only 25% of those tested returned spontaneously for test results; however, nine of 12 participants with positive results were treated due to investigator vigilance in locating the youth. Street youth partner self-notification resulted in five additional street youth requesting testing and treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Street youth participated in a STD testing program when a street friendly program and noninvasive methods were used. Although more expensive, urine PCR testing increased program acceptance by street youth compared with previous local results. Detection of C trachomatis was high in this hard-to-reach population. There is a need to address further the problem of poor return rates for results and treatment, as well as low rates of partner notification.