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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify adolescent females who are at high risk for Chlamydia.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to discuss options to increase compliance with screening for Chlamydia in adolescent females.
Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection affecting adolescent females. Adolescent females are at high risk of contracting Chlamydia because of high risk sexual behaviors. Screening adolescent females for Chlamydia is a topic of concern to health care professionals. Screening is important because early detection of Chlamydia infection can prevent the physically and emotionally devastating effects of this disease on young women. This evidence-based practice (EBP) project focused on examining two interventions (urine based test or pelvic examination) that can be used in screening young women for Chlamydia, during their annual comprehensive physical examination. The literature demonstrated that many studies done on screening adolescent females for Chlamydia support a noninvasive method for screening. School Based Health Centers (SBHC) in High Schools are the best place to easily reach adolescents. A retrospective chart review was done to collect data from the adolescent females’ charts at three School Based Health Centers in the New York City area. A total of 124 charts were reviewed in order to collect data to quantify adolescent females’ compliance with one of the two screening methods. The target population was adolescent females of all ethnicities between the ages of 14-19 years of age. The results showed that 58% of adolescent females accepted the urine based test to be screened for Chlamydia, 14% accepted the pelvic examination, and 28% were not screened. The adolescent females’ compliance increased with screening when the UBT was offered as an option for Chlamydia screening from 40% in 2007 to 72% by the end of the first quarter in 2009. There was an increase of adolescent females’ compliance with screening for Chlamydia using a noninvasive testing method.
See more of: Oral Paper & Poster: Evidence-Based Practice Contest