Gonorrhoea testing and positivity in non-remote Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

Background Gonorrhoea occurs at high levels in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote communities, but there are limited data on urban and regional settings. An analysis was undertaken of gonorrhoea testing and positivity at four non-remote Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services participating in a collaborative research network.

This was a retrospective analysis of clinical encounter data derived from electronic medical records at participating services. Data were extracted using the GRHANITE program for all patients aged 15-54 years from 2009 to 2013. Demographic characteristics and testing and positivity for gonorrhoea were calculated for each year.

A total of 2971 patients (2571 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) were tested for gonorrhoea during the study period. Among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients, 40 (1.6%) tested positive. Gonorrhoea positivity was associated with clinic location (higher in the regional clinic) and having had a positive chlamydia test. By year, the proportion of patients aged 15-29 years tested for gonorrhoea increased in both men (7.4% in 2009 to 15.9% in 2013) and women (14.8% in 2009 to 25.3% in 2013). Concurrent testing for chlamydia was performed on 86.3% of testing occasions, increasing from 75% in 2009 to 92% in 2013. Factors related to concurrent testing were sex and year of test.

The prevalence of gonorrhoea among young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in non-remote settings suggests that the current approach of duplex testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea simultaneously is justified, particularly for women.