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Cited by 10Reproductive tract infections researchPharmacy and Medical PracticesHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Barriers and Facilitators of Partner Treatment of Chlamydia: A Qualitative Investigation with Prescribers and Community Pharmacists

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Wood, Helen, Hall, Caroline, Ioppolo, Emma, Ioppolo, Renée, Scacchia, Ella, Clifford, Rhonda, Gudka, Sajni·2018·Pharmacy
DOI 10.3390/pharmacy6010017PMC PMC5874556
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Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most frequently-notified sexually transmitted infection in Australia. Effective and timely partner treatment of chlamydia is essential to reduce overall prevalence and the burden of infection. Currently in most of Australia, the only avenue for partner treatment of chlamydia (“standard partner therapy”) is a tedious, and often inconvenient, process. The barriers and facilitators of standard partner therapy, and newer models of accelerated partner therapy (APT), need to be identified in the Australian setting. Additionally, the potential role of community pharmacists need to be explored. Semi-structured interview guides for two key stakeholder groups (prescribers and pharmacists) were developed and piloted. Eleven prescribers (general practitioners, sexual health clinicians and nurse practitioners) and twelve pharmacists practicing in the Perth metropolitan region were interviewed. Key reported barriers to standard partner therapy were lack of or delayed chlamydia testing. Key facilitators included ability to test and educate sexual partner. Key barriers for APT included prescribers’ legal responsibility and potential for medication-related adverse effects. Healthcare provider consultation and chlamydia testing were seen as potential facilitators of APT. Pharmacists were receptive to the idea of expanding their role in chlamydia treatment, however, barriers to privacy must be overcome in order to be acceptable to prescribers and pharmacists.

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  • Other health workers preferred provider-assisted referral because they could give details about treatment to the partner and provide help or support to the patient, including to mitigate violent responses from sexual partners.

    “Other health workers preferred provider-assisted referral as they could give details about the treatment to the partner and provide help/support to the patient, including to mitigate violent responses from sexual partners (123, 131, 132).”

    From Updated recommendations for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Treponema pallidum (syphilis) and new recommendations on syphilis testing and partner services (2024) · cites this paper as [132]

    Section 3.3 (page not specified) says pharmacists described educating and counselling patients, including explaining medication and following up on partners. The cited paper does not establish that health workers preferred provider-assisted referral for those reasons, or that they used it to mitigate violent responses from sexual partners; searches for those terms found no supporting passage. (LLM, conf=0.77)

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  • Health workers indicated that to deliver services effectively they would need support, including training, data management tools, funding, more staff time, and supportive policies.

    “Health workers also indicated that to deliver services effectively they would need support, including training, data management tools, funding, more staff time allocated to complete certain tasks, and supportive policies (124, 127, 132-139).”

    From Updated recommendations for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Treponema pallidum (syphilis) and new recommendations on syphilis testing and partner services (2024) · cites this paper as [132]

    The Discussion (§4.2 and §4.5; page numbers unavailable) supports training, staff availability, funding, and clinical guidelines or legislative changes for chlamydia partner-treatment services. It also identifies pharmacists’ lack of time as a barrier. Our copy does not identify data-management tools as a needed support, so it does not support the full list attributed to this paper. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Wood, H., Hall, C., Ioppolo, E., Ioppolo, R., Scacchia, E., Clifford, R., & Gudka, S.
Affiliations
The University of Western Australia (AU)
Corresponding author
Gudka, Sajni
ORCID
Venue
Pharmacy
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2018-02-08
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
17
ISSN
2226-4787 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/pharmacy6010017
PMC
PMC5874556
OpenAlex
W2791983400
Cited by
10
References
45
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
FWCI
1.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Pharmacy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Reproductive tract infections research
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
Keywords
chlamydia, partner treatment, sexually transmitted infections, community pharmacists, prescribers, barriers and facilitators, chlamydia testing, legal responsibility, adverse drug reactions, privacy, Australia

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