Sexual health service adaptations to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia: a nationwide online survey.

Phillips, Tiffany R; Fairley, Christopher K; Donovan, Basil; Ong, Jason J; McNulty, Anna; Marshall, Lewis; Templeton, David J; Owen, Louise; Ward, Alison; Gunathilake, Manoji; Russell, Darren; Langton-Lockton, Julian; Bourne, Christopher; Martin, Sarah; Chow, Eric P F

OBJECTIVE Examine the changes in service delivery Australian public sexual health clinics made to remain open during lockdown. METHODS A cross-sectional survey designed and delivered on Qualtrics was emailed to 21 directors of public sexual health clinics across Australia from July-August 2020 and asked about a variety of changes to service delivery. Descriptive statistics were calculated. RESULTS Twenty clinics participated, all remained open and reported service changes, including suspension of walk-in services in eight clinics. Some clinics stopped offering asymptomatic screening for varying patient populations. Most clinics transitioned to a mix of telehealth and face-to-face consultations. Nineteen clinics reported delays in testing and 13 reported limitations in testing. Most clinics changed to phone consultations for HIV medication refills (n=15) and eleven clinics prescribed longer repeat prescriptions. Fourteen clinics had staff redeployed to assist the COVID-19 response. CONCLUSION Public sexual health clinics pivoted service delivery to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission in clinical settings, managed staffing reductions and delays in molecular testing, and maintained a focus on urgent and symptomatic STI presentations and those at higher risk of HIV/STI acquisition. Implications for public health: Further research is warranted to understand what impact reduced asymptomatic screening may have had on community STI transmission.