nsw stigma syphilis campaign

Join Me!

•An overview of the NSW STIGMA Syphilis Campaign

Nick Corrigan

Director, Community Health

Overview

• Local data• STI prevention 2004-2007• Changes in rates• STIGMA response• Next steps

The rise and fall in NSW

STIs or Infection Specific?

Like a phoenix from the ashes

A partnership response

• From each of the South Eastern Sydney Illawarra Area Health Service, Sydney South West Area Health Service and Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service.

– Director, Public Health Unit – Director, Sexual Health Services – Manager, HIV/Sexual Health promotion – Manager, HIV/AIDS/Sexual health program

• Director and a Manager, ACON • General Practitioners, Division of General Practice representatives • General Practitioner, HIV GP Study Group • National Centre in HIV Social Research • National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research • Manager, People Living with HIV/AIDS (NSW) • AIDS/Infectious Diseases Branch, New South Wales Health Department

Five complementary aspects of a Syphilis control program

• Screening• Clinical diagnosis• Treatment• Partner notification• Health education

• Cates, Willard et al (1996)

Just one month

Highly targeted

Screening

• Encourage health care providers to routinely test all pos gay men for syphilis when conducting regular blood tests between October 2007 and April 2008.

• Ensure men are aware that there is enhanced access to testing and treatment from 1-30 October 2007.

• Ensure men are aware that testing at the same time as others in their sexual networks has a greater impact than regular testing alone.

• Encourage men to present for testing from 1-30 October 2007.

Clinical diagnosis

Encourage health care providers to explore ways of maximising the number of syphilis tests they can provide in October by enhancing access to clinical services for this target group.

Treatment

• Treatment of diagnosed infection• Encourage health care providers to treat according to CDC

guidelines

• Prophylactic treatment or sexual partners of infected individuals

• Encourage health care providers to treat for syphilis prior to return of positive result after probable exposure.

• Encourage use of benzathine penicillin (one shot)

• Mass treatment of communities with high prevalence

• Not a part of this intervention.

Partner notification

• Encourage health care providers to promote partner notification / contact tracing.

• Encourage infected and treated individuals to contact their sexual partners.

Health education

• Ensure men are aware that there is a high prevalence rate of syphilis in their networks.

• Ensure men are aware of the negative health impact of untreated syphilis.

• Ensure men are aware of the HIV related health impact of syphilis infection.

Strategies

• Contact with individual health care providers.

• Structural changes to services offered• Education through press editorial• Social marketing

Contact with individual health care providers.

Structural changes to services offered

• Nurse-only clinic (Sanctuary SSW)• Sexual Health Service's clinical 'careset' for

HIV positive clients (CS)• All male clients offered tests (RPAH HIV

Outpatients Clinic) • Emphasized gay men in triage system

Education through press editorial

• Early involvement of journalist• Enabled wider message than social

marketing

Social marketing

• Posters (1,500)• Post cards (3,000)• Press (8 placements)• Banners • Social networks

Real people

Targeted messages

Venue partnerships

Peer to peer

• Model’s elists• Online chat through sexpigs.com

Ongoing promotion

Why test update

Evaluation

• Web stats• Test requests• Syphilis diagnoses• Clinical changes• Campaign recognition• Target audience feedback• Model feedback

Feedback so far …

Pos groups Community members Clinic staff± Venues

Plans for the future

• Annual?• Cross state?

Thank you

Questions?

Nick Corriganncorrigan@acon.org.au

02 9206 2071