Bridging the Gap: Using School-Based Health Services to Improve Chlamydia Screening Among Young Women

The study's objective was to implement a chlamydia screening program targeting young women accessing reproductive health care services in a school-based setting, and to assess racial/ethnic factors associated with infection.

From January 2008 to December 2008, the California Family Health Council partnered with nine health care agencies receiving federal Title X family planning funding and 19 educational institutions to implement the Educational Partnerships to Increase Chlamydia Screening (EPICS) program.

A total of 3,396 unique sexually active females received reproductive health care at EPICS agencies, of whom 85 percent self-reported no other source for reproductive health care. Chlamydia testing was given to 3,026 clients (89.1 percent chlamydia screening coverage); 5.6 percent of those screened tested positive for the infection. Clients who were African-American (odds ratio [OR]=7.5; 95 percent confidence interval [CI]=3.9, 14.3), Pacific Islander (OR=4.1; 95 percent CI=1.1, 15.5) or Asian (OR=3.3; 95 percent CI=1.4, 8.1) were more likely to test positive for chlamydia than were white clients.

"Chlamydia screening programs implemented in school-based settings have the capacity to identify and treat a significant amount of asymptomatic infection in a population that otherwise may not be reached," the authors concluded. "To facilitate screening, school-based clinics should implement outreach strategies that target their school population and clinical strategies that maximize opportunities for screening."

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