Issues in scale-up: Chlamydia screening

Background: The racial disparities associated with STDs such as syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV are widely acknowledged and to some extent are being addressed by community-based organizations. However, less attention has been paid to the fact that clinic-based and population-based prevalence evaluations and case report data indicate that minority populations are also at substantially increased risk for chlamydia. As efforts are made to increase chlamydia screening across the United States, it is important that such interventions adequately address minority populations.

Results: Although it is important that efforts to increase chlamydia screening address minority populations, there are numerous issues to be addressed in this regard. For one thing, there must be greater awareness that chlamydia is an STD associated with a substantial racial disparity. Furthermore, data assessing chlamydia screening by race and locale are needed, as are data to help identify which providers must be targeted if screening among minority populations is to be addressed appropriately. In addition, evaluations are needed to identify if and how the barriers to screening minority populations differ from those facing the larger community.

Discussion: It is important that efforts to increase chlamydia screening in the United States adequately address minority populations. As yet, little effort has specifically addressed these questions.