COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing in a College Setting

Abstract

Objective: Assess the impact of the pandemic on STI (sexually transmitted infections) testing in a college health setting. Design: Exploratory analysis of the number of STI tests done, positive rates for those tests and of percentage of compliance to follow-up from March to December 2020 and its comparison with historical data at the University Health Services, UW-Madison. Sample: students STI tests during the analyzed period. Measurement: Observed (2020) vs Expected (2015-2019, average) number of STI tests, positive rate, compliance to follow-up testing for STIs. Results: There was a significant decrease in the number of tests done and increase of positive rate when compared to historical for total sample and per sex. There was a decrease in the percentage of follow-up for the entire sample and females and an increase for males. Conclusions: Considering the three outcomes assessed, we observe an impact in STI testing during the pandemic. In concordance with national data, our analysis shows significant declines in STI testing and follow-up during 2020 compared to previous years and an increase in positivity rate. The finding of higher positivity with lower number of tests is likely due to triaging patients, facilitating testing for those at highest risk of infection.