Implementing standardized STD follow-up trainings to advance STD prevention and control in clinical settings

Although management of STD positive patients is vital to STD prevention and control, positive patient management practices vary by clinic and agency. In addition, challenges exist for positive patient management practices including high staff turnover, lack of clearly defined roles, and limited standardized trainings. Standardizing these practices can lead to more accurate reporting and communication of comprehensive counseling messages to positive patients, including the importance of partner treatment and retesting. In an effort to standardize these practices, California Family Health Council (CFHC) in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Division of HIV and STD Programs (DHSP), conducted a series of STD follow-up trainings provided to 60 clinical staff from 28 healthcare agencies in Los Angeles.

The trainings included local STD epidemiology, screening and treatment guidelines, positive patient communication, confidential morbidity reporting, as well as an interactive activity on partner elicitation. CHFC conducted evaluations immediately after the training sessions to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behavior intent for STD prevention and control. In an effort to assess the efficacy of the trainings, a six-month follow-up survey was administered to the participants. Evaluation findings will be used to improve the curriculum of the STD positive follow-up trainings, and shared with participating healthcare agencies to enhance STD prevention and control.

This session will review best practices in STD positive patient management and lessons learned in systems change affecting policy and practice, fast tracking appointments, training key staff, and implementing sustainable protocols can lead to better positive patient management.