Understanding young men's preferences for sexually transmitted infection care services in a low-income community clinic setting in New York City

Engaging men in sexual and reproductive health services remains challenging. We evaluated men's preferences on testing, notification and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in a community clinic in Upper Manhattan. Men in the waiting room were asked to complete a self-administered, anonymous survey over one month in the summer of 2007. 67% of eligible men (n=199) agreed to participate. Respondents were primarily Latino (84%), completed high school or higher (67%) and were young (median 25 years, range 18-53). The median number of sex partners in the past year was one (range 0-20); 13% reported sexual relations with other men. When asked about specimen collection for STI testing, 51% preferred to collect their specimen at the clinic, 12% at home, 8% to have a doctor take the sample, and 29% had no preference. For anal infections, 34% preferred self-collecting an anal swab, 30% having a doctor do so and 36% no preference. Their first choice for notification of a positive test result was by cell phone (54%), contacting the clinic themselves (17%), or home phone (11%). 21% reported having ever had gonorrhea or chlamydia. Of these, 39% (16) were given medication to bring their partner and almost all (n=14) reported their partner took the medicine. 83% of all men reported they would be (very) likely to take STI medication brought to them by their partner. Analyses of preferences by socio-demographic characteristics and implications for tailoring services including the use of patient-delivered partner therapy are discussed.