The REACT study looked at home-based strategies to increase chlamydia retesting.
Initially, we looked into the acceptability of using postal home-collection kits and SMS reminders compared to SMS reminders only. Acceptability and cost effectiveness of the strategies was considered and compared. We concluded that both options should be provided to maximise retesting rates.
We then compared retesting rates in two groups. Three months after their chlamydia diagnosis and treatment, one group received an SMS reminder to retest and a postal home collection kit. The other group only received an SMS reminder to return to the clinic for retesting.
We found that the number of participants who retested within 1-4 months of their chlamydia diagnosis was much higher in the home kit retest group versus those who received an SMS only to return to the clinic for retesting. The home kit retest group with repeat positive tests was higher than the clinic retest group and among men who have sex with men.
The addition of a postal home collection kit to routine SMS reminders resulted in large improvements in chlamydia retesting rates and detection of more repeat positive tests, compared with SMS alone.
Publications
The acceptability and cost of a home-based chlamydia retesting strategy: findings from the REACT randomised controlled trial
Smith K, Kaldor J, Hocking JS, Jamil M, McNulty A, Read P, Bradshaw CS, Chen MY, Fairley CK, Wand H, Worthington K, Blake S, Knight V, Rawlinson W, Saville M, Tabrizi S, Garland S, Donovan B, Guy R
(2016), BMC Public Health,
Dual Intervention to Increase Chlamydia Retesting: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Three Populations
Smith KS, Hocking JS, Chen MY, Fairley CK, McNulty AM, Read P, Bradshaw CS, Tabrizi SN, Wand H, Saville M, Rawlinson W, Garland SM, Donovan B, Kaldor JM, Guy RJ
(2015), American Journal of Preventive Medicine,