286473
Increasing partner notification and treatment in a family planning setting through systems change
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
: 8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
German Rodriguez,
Client Services Department, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Timely partner notification and treatment is essential to reducing further transmission of STDs. The practice of parnter notification and treatment varies among clinical sites. In an effort to address timely partner management, the Los Angeles County Division of HIV and STD Programs (DHSP) worked in collaboration with a community clinic to hire a Community-Embedded Disease Intervention Specialist (CEDIS), aimed at notification and treatment of partners. The CEDIS played a central role in STD prevention at the clinic. Modeled after this effective program, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA) collaborated with DHSP and the California Family Health Council (CFHC) to pilot a similiar project at their multi-site family planning agency focusing on gonorrhea (GC) in South Los Angeles. Gonorrhea rates in South Los Angeles account for 40% of all GC cases in Los Angeles. PPLA delivers healthcare services to approximately 93,551 clients in South Los Angeles at eight clinical sites. The project required institutional changes in clinic policy and practice specifically designed to reach partners of diagnosed STD patients. These changes were crucial to the effectual integration of the CEDIS in the various sites at PPLA. We will discuss successful system changes with the coordination of various departments in the agency to make the project effective, such as fast tracking patient appointments and improved quality of patient interviews. We will also discuss best practices and challenges in establishing system change to enhance STD prevention and control in a family planning setting.
Learning Areas:
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Learning Objectives:
Identify three strategies that address challenges to improve STD prevention and control in a family planning setting.
Discuss monitoring activities required to ensure successful strategy implementation.
Keyword(s): Reproductive Health, STD
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been invovlved in the area of Reproductive Health for 13 years. The majority of my work has been focused on STD intervention and prevention. I have successfully completed the Introduction to Sexually Trasnmitted Disease Intervention training through the Department of Health and Human Services. Active member of Community Stakeholders Group on STD prevention for the local District.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
