Examining the impacts of a syphilis awareness campaign among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in British Columbia, Canada

Sang, Jordan M; Wong, Jason; Ryan, Venessa; Cumming, Emma; Wang, Lu; Cui, Zishan; Bacani, Nicanor; Haag, Devon; Lachowsky, Nathan J.; Cox, Joseph; Grace, Daniel; Otterstatter, Michael; Morshed, Muhammad; Edward, Joshua; Grennan, Troy; Arkles, Jillian; Brownrigg, Bobbi; Hogg, Robert S.; Moore, David

doi:10.17269/s41997-022-00690-0

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 19 publications

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“… 16 Educational campaigns promoting syphilis awareness and testing are one strategy to support syphilis prevention but have had limited impact on syphilis rates. 17 Novel approaches (e.g., antibiotic pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis) have recently been shown to be potentially effective in preventing the spread of syphilis among MSM. Specifically, studies have shown promising potential for the use of doxycycline as pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy-PrEP or Doxy-PEP, hereafter referred to as Doxy-P) used as a sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention strategy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of screening and doxycycline prevention on the syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men in British Columbia: a mathematical modelling study

Zhu,

Takeh,

David

et al. 2024

The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of screening and doxycycline prevention on the syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men in British Columbia: a mathematical modelling study

Zhu,

Takeh,

David

et al. 2024

The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

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Do men who have sex with men recognise syphilis symptoms? A syphilis awareness campaign in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Nieuwenburg,

van Bijnen,

Vermey

et al. 2024

Sex Transm Infect

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IntroductionSyphilis incidence is rising among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). To improve early health-seeking behaviour, we developed an online syphilis symptom score tool for GBMSM to self-identify a higher likelihood of infectious syphilis and promoted its use via an online and offline awareness campaign.MethodsFrom October 2018 through September 2019, a dedicated website on syphilis including the online symptom score tool was promoted. The reach of the campaign was measured by website metrics and the completion of the self-assessment tool. The impact of the campaign was assessed by comparing the monthly number of syphilis serology tests and the percentages of infectious syphilis diagnoses at the Centre for Sexual Health (CSH) in Amsterdam between three periods: 12 months preceding, 12 months during and 6 months after the campaign.ResultsDuring the campaign, 20 341 visitors viewed the website. A total of 13 499 (66.4%) visitors started the self-assessment algorithm, and 11 626 (86.1%) completed it. Prior to the campaign, the mean number of syphilis tests per month was 1650 compared with 1806 per month during the campaign (p=0.02). In the 6 months after the campaign, the mean number of tests per month was 1798 (compared with the period of the campaign, p=0.94). Prior to the campaign, the percentage of infectious syphilis diagnoses was 2.5% compared with 3.0% during the campaign (p=0.009). The percentage of infectious syphilis diagnoses in the 6 months after the campaign was 2.2% (p<0.0001 compared with the period of the campaign, and p=0.045, compared with the period prior to the campaign).ConclusionsAlthough we did not find definite proof of a (sustained) effect, syphilis symptoms awareness campaigns deserve further evaluation and improvements to help those suspected of syphilis to get tested.

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Examining the impacts of a syphilis awareness campaign among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in British Columbia, Canada

Cited by 2 publications

References 19 publications

Impact of screening and doxycycline prevention on the syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men in British Columbia: a mathematical modelling study

Impact of screening and doxycycline prevention on the syphilis epidemic among men who have sex with men in British Columbia: a mathematical modelling study

Do men who have sex with men recognise syphilis symptoms? A syphilis awareness campaign in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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