Online STI testing proves effective

Fill out questionnaire and take requisition to nearest LifeLab

The BC Centre for Disease Control has found an online testing program for sexually transmitted infections and blood borne diseases has been successful in Interior Health.

Getcheckedonline.com is a service that allows people to test for these infections without visiting a doctor and to get their results online.

People can visit the website, create an account and answer a sexual history questionnaire.

They will then be given a laboratory requisition form to take to a participating LifeLab location and will be emailed when their results are ready.

Clients with positive or inconclusive results will be contacted by a BCCDC nurse to arrange follow-up and appropriate treatment.

“An individual’s sexual health can be neglected based on shame, embarrassment or inconvenience, but if sexually transmitted infections are not identified and treated, they can result in serious health concerns,” said Maja Karlsson, HIV and health outreach manager with Interior Health.

The program launched in 2014 in Vancouver and expanded to Kamloops and Nelson in 2016, along with locations on Vancouver Island.

An evaluation of the first 18 months shows 100 per cent of participants in Interior Health were satisfied or very satisfied with their testing experience and 96 per cent said they would use the service again.

In total, 590 people in IH have been tested through the program.

Fifteen per cent of all people tested across B.C. in the 18 months were from Interior Health, as were 21 per cent of all positive diagnoses.

“The results of this evaluation clearly underscore the value of this free and convenient online testing service, particularly for those at increased risk,” said Karlsson.

Discussions to expand the service elsewhere in Interior Health are underway.

A five-year $2-million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will be used to evaluate the growth of the program.