Private MD News

Home STD testing may help more women get screened

Category: Chlamydia

At-home STD testing led more women to be screened for chlamydia in a recent study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, suggesting that this approach may be a useful way to prevent the spread of illnesses.

The researchers evaluated home STD testing methods among a group of high-risk women who had already been infected and treated for the virus. Individuals are always asked to return to health clinics for subsequent testing after being treated to be sure that the same partner did not reinfect them, but relatively few patients follow through on this advice.

Among 412 participants, half were asked to return to the health clinic a few months after treatment and half were given home testing kits. The results showed that just 19 percent returned to the office for testing, but 26 percent sent back the results of their home testing kit.

The researchers wrote in their report, which was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, that this type of home testing approach could help improve the monitoring of individuals who have been infected with chlamydia, and this may help to slow the spread of the dangerous STD.