Enhanced Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections to Foster a Learning Public Health System

PMCID: PMC12175029

PMID: 40526386

DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14308

Journal: JAMA network open

Publication Date: 2025-6-17

Authors: Reyes Nieva H, Zucker J, Tucker E, Castor D, Yin MT, et al.

Key Points

• Demonstrated potential of health information exchanges to enhance regional disease surveillance by integrating diverse data sources
• Identified significant testing disparities, with positivity rates ranging from 0.3% (HIV) to 2% (chlamydia)
• Highlighted the need for targeted testing and intervention strategies for underserved populations

Summary

This cross-sectional study leveraged health information exchanges and open government data to examine infectious disease testing patterns across 4,767,322 participants, focusing on chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV testing. The research revealed significant disparities in testing and positivity rates across demographic characteristics, highlighting potential gaps in current public health surveillance strategies.

The study found low but notable positivity rates: 2% for chlamydia (among 1,519,121 tests), 1% for gonorrhea (among 1,574,772 tests), and 0.3% for HIV (among 1,200,560 tests). Notably, testing and positivity rates varied substantially by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, with Black or African American populations showing higher positivity rates, particularly for HIV (37% of positive results) and gonorrhea (30% of positive results).