Where do young Irish women want Chlamydia-screening services to be set up? A qualitative study employing Goffman's impression management framework

Abstract

a b s t r a c tWe conducted interviews with 35 young women recruited from eight community healthcare rural and urban settings across two regions of Ireland. The aim of the study was to explore where these women thought Chlamydia-screening services should be located. Respondents wanted screening services to be located in settings where they would not be witnessed either asking for, or being asked to take, Chlamydia tests. Respondents were worried that their identities would become stigmatized if others were to find out that they had accepted screening. Findings are interpreted through Goffman's stigma and impression management framework. We conclude with public health recommendations.

Exploring access and attitudes to regular sexually transmitted infection screening: the views of young, multi‐ethnic, inner‐city, female students

“…Recognition of candidacy for services is iterative and subject to social influences and contexts. Thus, individual decisions to get tested for STIs may be influenced by health beliefs, knowledge, previous experience, available services, attitudes, ability to act on beliefs and perceptions of prevailing peer or societal norms . Despite the pervasiveness of sexual imagery in the media, STIs remain a stigmatizing condition …”

“…To date, many qualitative studies of STI screening have focussed on participants already attending healthcare facilities . Focusing solely on this population could represent potential bias in the literature, especially if the goal is to reach those who never successfully access STI screening.…”

Adapting the Get Yourself Tested Campaign to Reach Black and Latino Sexual-Minority Youth

“…This campaign implemented suggestions from youth that have also been proposed in other settings and populations (Balfe, Brugha, O’Connell, McGee, & O’Donovan, 2010; Prost et al, 2007; Tilson et al, 2004), including structural adaptations to mobile testing (i.e., relocating near but not directly visible from youth venues); advertising the availability of a broad range of health care services, rather than emphasizing STD/HIV testing; and changing the hours at which testing services were offered to accommodate community pressure. Yet, despite these adaptations, testing uptake through the mobile van was low in terms of absolute numbers, though higher than the baseline period.…”

Space, time, and emotion in the community pharmacy

“…(Pharmacy user. P.9) Embarrassment is important in health care in general as it is seen as deterring patients from seeking treatment and adopting health protecting measures (Balfe et al, 2010). This is particularly so in relation to sensitive topics related to intimate body functions or personal health information that people would prefer not to have discussed in the presence of others (Meerabeau, 1999(Meerabeau, , p. 1508.…”