Denison Hayley J, Woods Lisa, Bromhead Collette, Kennedy Jane, Grainger Rebecca, Jutel Annemarie, Dennison Elaine M
Research Fellow, Centre for Public Health Research, Massey University, Wellington; Doctoral Candidate, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington.
Statistical Consultant, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Victoria University, Wellington.
N Z Med J. 2018 Aug 31;131(1481):40-49.
Untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can lead to serious health complications and may be transmitted to uninfected individuals. Therefore, the early detection and subsequent management of STIs is crucial to control efforts. Time to presentation for STI symptoms and risk of transmission in this period has not been assessed in New Zealand to date.
All new clients presenting to an urban sexual health clinic (SHC) were invited to complete a questionnaire, which included demographic information, sexual health history, and details about the clinic visit.
Of 331 people approached, 243 (73.4%) agreed to complete the questionnaire. Four incomplete questionnaires were excluded, leaving 239 participants (47.3% female and 52.7% male, 43.8% under the age of 25). The most common reason for seeking healthcare was experiencing symptoms (39.4%) and 41.7% of people with symptoms waited more than seven days to seek healthcare. Around a third (30.6%) of people with symptoms had sex after they first thought they may need to seek healthcare. Infrequent condom use was reported more often by people who had sex with existing partners (84.6%) than by people who had sex with new partners (10.0%).
This is the first study to quantify healthcare-seeking behaviour for STI in New Zealand. Delayed healthcare-seeking (defined as waiting more than seven days) was common and almost a third of people reported engaging in sex while symptomatic. Enabling prompt healthcare-seeking is crucial to minimise transmission risk. Structural barriers such as the financial cost of STI tests must be removed and education around symptom recognition and healthcare system navigation should be provided.
未经治疗的性传播感染（STIs）可导致严重的健康并发症，并可能传播给未感染的个体。因此，性传播感染的早期检测及后续管理对于防控工作至关重要。迄今为止，新西兰尚未评估出现性传播感染症状后的就诊时间以及在此期间的传播风险。
邀请所有前往城市性健康诊所（SHC）的新客户填写一份问卷，问卷内容包括人口统计学信息、性健康史以及此次就诊的详细情况。
在331名被邀请者中，243人（73.4%）同意填写问卷。排除4份不完整问卷后，剩余239名参与者（女性占47.3%，男性占52.7%，43.8%年龄在25岁以下）。寻求医疗服务的最常见原因是出现症状（39.4%），41.7%出现症状的人等待超过7天才寻求医疗服务。约三分之一（30.6%）出现症状的人在首次认为自己可能需要就医后仍有性行为。与现有伴侣发生性行为的人（84.6%）比与新伴侣发生性行为的人（10.0%）更常报告不经常使用避孕套。
这是新西兰第一项量化性传播感染就医行为的研究。延迟就医（定义为等待超过7天）很常见，近三分之一的人报告在出现症状时仍有性行为。促使及时就医对于将传播风险降至最低至关重要。必须消除诸如性传播感染检测费用等结构性障碍，并应提供有关症状识别和医疗系统导航的教育。
