Sexual health in Indigenous communities

Fairley, Christopher K; Hocking, Jane S

doi:10.5694/mja12.11448

Topics

Indigenous health

Men's health

Sexual health

Extreme rates of gonorrhoea in remote areas must be reduced

In this issue of the Journal, there are two important articles highlighting the disadvantages experienced by Indigenous Australians, and offering important practical suggestions for improving health care.1,2

School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: cfairley@unimelb.edu.au

Competing interests:

Christopher Fairley owns shares in an exchange-traded fund of the global health care sector.

1. Graham S, Guy RJ, Donovan B, et al. Epidemiology of chlamydia and gonorrhoea among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, 2000–2009. Med J Aust 2012; 197: 642-646. <MJA full text>
2. Silver BJ, Knox J, Smith KS, et al. Frequent occurrence of undiagnosed pelvic inflammatory disease in remote communities of central Australia. Med J Aust 2012; 197: 647-651. <MJA full text>
3. Harrison WO, Hooper RR, Wiesner PJ, et al. A trial of minocycline given after exposure to prevent gonorrhea. N Engl J Med 1979; 300: 1074-1078.
4. Peipert JF. Clinical practice. Genital chlamydial infections. N Engl J Med 2003; 349: 2424-2430.
5. Ali H, Guy RJ, Fairley CK, et al. Understanding trends in genital Chlamydia trachomatis can benefit from enhanced surveillance: findings from Australia. Sex Transm Infect 2012; Oct 9 [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2011-050423. http://sti.bmj.com/content/early/2012/05/28/sextrans-2011-050423.short?rss=1 (accessed Nov 2012).
6. Low N, Bender N, Nartey L, et al. Effectiveness of chlamydia screening: systematic review. Int J Epidemiol 2009; 38: 435-448.
7. Fairley CK, Bowden FJ, Gay NJ, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases in disadvantaged Australian communities. JAMA 1997; 278: 117-118.
8. Huang RL, Torzillo PJ, Kirby AC. Epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands: results of a comprehensive control program — a postscript. Med J Aust 2008; 189: 446. <MJA full text>
9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gonorrhea. Atlanta, Ga: CDC, 2012. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Gonorrhea (accessed Nov 2012).
10. Fine D, Thomas KK, Nakatsukasa-Ono W, Marrazzo J. Chlamydia positivity in women screened in family planning clinics: racial/ethnic differences and trends in the northwest US, 1997–2006. Public Health Rep 2012; 127: 38-51.
11. Golden MR, Kerndt PR. Improving clinical operations: can we and should we save our STD clinics? Sex Transm Dis 2010; 37: 264-265.
12. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Third national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections strategy 2010–2013. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2010. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ohp-national-strategies-2010-atsi-bbv (accessed Nov 2012).
13. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. To err is human: building a safer health system. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press, 2000. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/1999/To-Err-is-Human-Building-A-Safer-Health-System.aspx (accessed Nov 2012).
14. Doxanakis A, Hayes RD, Chen MY, et al. Missing pelvic inflammatory disease? Substantial differences in the rate at which doctors diagnose PID. Sex Transm Infect 2008; 84: 518-23.

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