ASSIST

Project Summary

We want to determine if online postal self-sampling services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) improve people’s access to sexual health care and benefit those most in need.

We want to discover how people who use and provide these services feel about them, the economic impact of introducing these services, and to determine the overall societal benefit, or otherwise, of this approach to sexual health care.

Sexual health is important for building a healthy society, and treatment for STIs is costly to the NHS.  Young people, those living in more deprived areas, gay men and those from black and minority ethnic groups are more affected by poor sexual health.

Many STIs are rising and so is demand on services, yet funding has reduced.  As a result, services have had to find new ways to deliver care, including ordering testing kits online which can be used at home.  The hope is that these online services are cost effective and increase access to testing, in particular among groups most at risk.

We are focusing on three areas (London, Birmingham and Sheffield) which provide an excellent cross section of our population.  We will look at key documents, interview service users and staff, and consider national, and clinic and online service level data.

Alongside this, we will undertake an economic evaluation. Synthesising these data will enable us to understand the pros and cons of online postal self-sampling, and the work required for implementing, integrating and embedding online postal self-sampling services into routine practices.

The study will help us understand which people access these services, whether it affects their care and clinical outcomes, how services have adapted to changes, and what works best, how and for whom.  This research will assist future service planning and could help develop similar public health services.

Key Project Information

Dates: 1st January 2021 to 31st March 2024

Status: Complete

Principal Investigator: Prof Fiona Burns and Dr Jo Gibbs

Partners: Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, UK Health Security Agency, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, University of Birmingham, University of Oxford

Research Sites:  Barts Health NHS Trust, Central & North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sexual Health London (SHL.UK), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Location: UK

Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Contact: Dr Alison Howarth (alison.howarth@ucl.ac.uk)