STI in remote communities: improved and enhanced primary health care (STRIVE) study protocol: a cluster randomised controlled trial comparing 'usual practice' STI care to enhanced care in remote primary health care services in Australia

Ward, James, McGregor, Skye, Guy, Rebecca J., Rumbold, Alice R., Garton, Linda, Silver, Bronwyn J., Taylor-Thomson, Debbie, Hengel, Belinda, Knox, Janet, Dyda, Amalie, Law, Matthew G., Wand, Handan, Donovan, Basil, Fairley, Christopher K., Skov, Steven, Ah Chee, Donna, Boffa, John, Glance, David, McDermott, Robyn, Maher, Lisa, and Kaldor, John M. (2013) STI in remote communities: improved and enhanced primary health care (STRIVE) study protocol: a cluster randomised controlled trial comparing 'usual practice' STI care to enhanced care in remote primary health care services in Australia. BMC Public Health, 13. 425. pp. 1-9.

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Abstract

Background: Despite two decades of interventions, rates of sexually transmissible infections (STI) in remote Australian Aboriginal communities remain unacceptably high. Routine notifications data from 2011 indicate rates of chlamydia and gonorrhoea among Aboriginal people in remote settings were 8 and 61 times higher respectively than in the non-Indigenous population.

Methods/design: STRIVE is a stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial designed to compare a sexual health quality improvement program (SHQIP) to usual STI clinical care delivered in remote primary health care services. The SHQIP is a multifaceted intervention comprising annual assessments of sexual health service delivery, implementation of a sexual health action plan, six-monthly clinical service activity data reports, regular feedback meetings with a regional coordinator, training and financial incentive payments. The trial clusters comprise either a single community or several communities grouped together based on geographic proximity and cultural ties. The primary outcomes are: prevalence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomonas in Aboriginal residents aged 16-34 years, and performance in clinical management of STIs based on best practice indicators. STRIVE will be conducted over five years comprising one and a half years of trial initiation and community consultation, three years of trial conditions, and a half year of data analysis. The trial was initiated in 68 remote Aboriginal health services in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.

Discussion: STRIVE is the first cluster randomised trial in STI care in remote Aboriginal health services. The trial will provide evidence to inform future culturally appropriate STI clinical care and control strategies in communities with high STI rates.

Item ID: 33298
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1471-2458
Additional Information:

© 2013 Ward et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Funders: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Projects and Grants: NHMRC Grant #568806
Date Deposited: 05 Jun 2014 04:03
FoR Codes: 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111701 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health @ 100%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9203 Indigenous Health > 920303 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health - Health System Performance (incl. Effectiveness of Interventions) @ 100%
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