Who Is Best to Test? A Systematic Review of Chlamydia Infections in Switzerland

Melanie Haag, Elisabeth Zemp, Kurt E. Hersberger and Isabelle Arnet
Additional contact information
Melanie Haag: Pharmaceutical Care Research Group, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
Elisabeth Zemp: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4002 Basel, Switzerland
Kurt E. Hersberger: Pharmaceutical Care Research Group, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
Isabelle Arnet: Pharmaceutical Care Research Group, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-13

Abstract: In many countries, community pharmacies provide sexual-health-related services to limit the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including chlamydia testing. To identify suitable target groups for pharmacy-based chlamydia testing in Switzerland, we aimed to assess chlamydia prevalence, identify risk groups, and delineate screening strategies. We conducted a systematic literature search up to December 2019 in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science, according to the PRISMA guidelines, using as keywords “chlamydia”, “screening”, and “Switzerland”. Two researchers screened the title, abstract, and full-text article and assessed the methodological quality. The literature search generated 108 hits, and nine studies were included. Chlamydia prevalence ranged between 0.8 and 12.8%. Most frequently affected were undocumented women undergoing voluntary termination of pregnancy (12.8%, 95% CI: 8.4–18.9), HIV-positive men who have sex with men (10.9%, 95% CI: 9.2–17.6), and adult offenders (6.5%, 95% CI: 3.2–9.0). Systematic screening was suggested for the first two risk groups and women suffering a miscarriage. To conclude, chlamydia infections are prevalent in Switzerland, but the identified risk groups are difficult to reach for a pharmacy-based testing service. More studies are needed to identify suitable target groups, including customers seeking sexual health services, particularly emergency contraception users who already receive counselling for STIs at community pharmacies.

Keywords: chlamydia; screening; pharmacy; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9389/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9389/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9389-:d:462364

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().