Improving chlamydia knowledge should lead to increased chlamydia testing among Australian general practitioners: a cross-sectional study of chlamydia testing uptake in general practice

Anna Yeung; Meredith Temple-Smith; Simone Spark; Rebecca Guy; Christopher K Fairley; Matthew Law; Anna Wood; Kirsty Smith; Basil Donovan; John Kaldor; Jane Gunn; Marie Pirotta; Rob Carter; Jane Hocking

doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0584-2

Table 3 GP characteristics and knowledge variables associated with chlamydia testing ¹

From: Improving chlamydia knowledge should lead to increased chlamydia testing among Australian general practitioners: a cross-sectional study of chlamydia testing uptake in general practice

GP variable		Odds ratio	95% CI	p-value	Adjusted OR²(including GP characteristics)	95% CI	p-value	Adjusted OR²(excluding GP characteristics)	95% CI	p-value
Gender of GP	Male	1.0			1.0
Gender of GP	Female	3.1	2.1, 4.7	<0.01	2.5	1.9, 3.3	<0.01
Location	Rural	1.0			1.0
Location	Metro	2.3	1.4, 3.6	<0.01	3.2	2.4, 4.3	<0.01
Age Group	<30	1.0			1.0
	30-44	0.8	0.5, 1.2	0.27	0.7	0.5, 1.1	0.13
	45-59	0.6	0.3, 0.9	0.02	0.5	0.3, 0.7	<0.01
	60+	0.4	0.1, 1.3	0.13	0.4	0.3, 0.7	<0.01
Years in general practice	<5	1.0
	5-10	1.0	0.6, 1.7	0.91
	10-20	0.9	0.6, 1.5	0.81
	20-30	0.8	0.4, 1.5	0.48
	30+	0.4	0.1, 1.3	0.11
Country of training	Australian	1.0
	trained
	Overseas trained	0.8	0.5, 1.2	0.31
Interest in sexual health	No	1.0			1.0
Interest in sexual health	Yes	1.7	1.0, 2.7	0.04	1.3	1.0, 1.7	0.03
Postgraduate qualifications	No	1.0
Postgraduate qualifications	Yes	1.2	0.7, 1.9	0.56
Female age groups at highest risk of infection³	Incorrect	1.0			1.0			1.0
Female age groups at highest risk of infection³	Correct	1.8	1.0, 3.1	0.05	1.6	0.7, 3.5	0.26	1.5	0.7, 3.5	0.31
Male age groups at highest risk of infection⁴	Incorrect	1.0			1.0			1.0
Male age groups at highest risk of infection⁴	Correct	1.6	0.9, 2.9	0.08	1.4	0.8, 2.7	0.23	1.6	0.9, 2.9	0.10
Chlamydia is usually asymptomatic in Women	Disagree	1.0						1.0
Chlamydia is usually asymptomatic in Women	Agree	1.4	0.9, 2.3	0.18				1.2	0.7, 2.1	0.44
Chlamydia is usually asymptomatic in Men	Disagree	1.0			1.0			1.0
Chlamydia is usually asymptomatic in Men	Agree	1.6	1.1, 2.2	0.01	1.4	1.0, 1.9	0.03	1.4	0.9, 1.9	0.10
Knowledge of population groups to be targeted for screening⁵	0-2	1.0			1.0			1.0
	3-5	2.0	1.0, 4.0	0.05	1.7	0.8, 3.8	0.16	2.0	1.0, 4.2	0.07
	6+	3.4	1.7, 6.8	<0.01	2.0	0.9, 4.4	0.08	2.9	1.4, 6.2	<0.01
Treatment in men and non-pregnant women⁶	Incorrect	1.0						1.0
Treatment in men and non-pregnant women⁶	Correct	1.0	0.4, 2.3	0.97				1.0	0.5, 2.2	0.92
Treatment in pregnant women⁶	Incorrect	1.0						1.0
Treatment in pregnant women⁶	Correct	0.7	0.5, 1.0	0.11				0.6	0.4, 0.9	0.01
Retest at 12 months after a negative test⁷	Incorrect	1.0			1.0			1.0
Retest at 12 months after a negative test⁷	Correct	1.8	0.9, 3.5	0.08	1.2	0.9, 1.6	0.32	1.5	0.9, 2.6	0.16
Retest at 3 months after a positive test⁷	Incorrect	1.0						1.0
Retest at 3 months after a positive test⁷	Correct	1.0	0.7, 1.5	0.97				0.9	0.6, 1.4	0.73
Knowledge of symptoms suggestive of PID⁸	Incorrect	1.0						1.0
Knowledge of symptoms suggestive of PID⁸	Correct	1.3	0.7, 2.2	0.38				1.3	0.8, 2.0	0.34
Knowledge of PID tests that should be done⁹	Incorrect	1.0			1.0			1.0
Knowledge of PID tests that should be done⁹	Correct	1.5	0.9, 2.3	0.09	0.9	0.7, 1.2	0.41	1.1	0.8, 1.7	0.51
Gender of patient²	Male	1.0			1.0			1.0
Gender of patient²	Female	2.3	1.7, 3.1	<0.01	1.9	1.5, 2.4	<0.01	2.2	1.7, 2.9	<0.01

¹Accounted for repeated measures from individuals GPs; ²The multivariable models have adjusted for patient gender; ³Answers were classified as correct if they ticked at least one correct answer - 15-19 and 20-24 year olds; ⁴Answers were classified as correct if they ticked at least one correct answer - 20-24 and 25-29 year olds; ⁵Knowledge of population groups to be targeted for screening is one point for correctly offering a test under the 2010 RACGP guidelines - tests should be offered to cases 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 & 8 but not offered to cases 3 & 6; ⁶Azithromycin is the correct treatment for men, women and pregnant women; ⁷RACGP guidelines recommend re-testing every 12 months after a negative test and every 3 months after a positive test; ⁸Correct signs and symptoms suggestive of PID are tenderness with motion of the cervix, adnexal tenderness, uterine tenderness, lower abdominal tenderness and inflamed cervix; ⁹Correct diagnostic tests are pregnancy test, chlamydia and gonorrhoea test, abdominal palpation and bimanual examination.

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