Implementing an STI screening initiative in New York City community colleges

Abstract

Objectives: Nationally, community colleges provide academic instruction to 5.6 million students annually. However, sexual health services, are often lacking. This pilot study was developed to assess the feasibility of implementing screening for sexually transmitted infections in community college settings in New York City where approximately 86,075 students attend classes. Methods: We recruited and trained an interdisciplinary group of graduate students (public health, nursing, and post-baccalaureate/pre-med) to provide sexual health risk assessments, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and linkages to care at three community college campuses in New York City. Results: Over a three-year period (2017–2019), 545 students were screened for STIs and 7.2% were positive for Chlamydia. Conclusions: Community college students are at high risk for sexually transmitted infections yet have limited access to sexual health services. Coordinated partnerships between state and local departments of health, public health schools, and an academic medical center demonstrate an important model which can fill identified gaps for this vulnerable population.

Keywords:

• Community colleges
• minority adolescents and young adults
• sexually transmitted infections

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute for their support in providing resources to establish this venue-based testing initiative. And, in particular, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Beth Bonacci Yurchak, MS, former Assistant Director, Bureau of HIV Ambulatory Care Services at the AIDS Institute, in helping to establish and nurture the Youth Access Program, of which Project STAY is a member.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Columbia University.

Additional information

Funding

Funding to support the development of this initiative was provided by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.