The availability of at-home screening may increase re-testing rate for chlamydia patients

Sexually transmitted diseases are sometimes thought of as a taboo topic, which may cause problems if individuals are not regularly tested for these infections simply because they do not want to be stereotyped by their physicians or other healthcare providers.

A recent study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology indicated that there may be a way to encourage more people to seek proper screening.

The research involved a group of women who had been previously diagnosed with and treated for chlamydia. Individuals who contract this type of infection are typically instructed to seek re-testing three months after they are prescribed medication because they have an increased risk of being re-infected. Therefore, the investigators told half of the participants to return to their physicians after the three-month period, while the other half were given at-home tests.

The study's results showed that women who were given the at-home kits were more likely to be re-tested than those who had to go back to their healthcare provider.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most frequently diagnosed STD stemming from a bacteria in the U.S.