Remote and Regional Populations
Synopsis
• Populations in regional and remote areas have less access to medical care as opposed to those living in urban areas.
• Availability of specialist STI services is less likely for regional and remote areas and waiting times for appointments with GPs may be considerable.
• Persons in regional and remote areas may be reluctant to identify as Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) and LGBTI communities may be less evident in these areas.
• A high percentage of the population in many remote areas are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• There may be a low threshold for offering STI testing opportunistically for clinicians operating in local and remote areas.
• Knowing patients in a social …show more content…
• STI checks should be offered after contact with an STI patient and treatment should be carried out presumptively for the STI.
• When a person requests an STI check or when an STI is diagnosed, an STI check should be offered.
• It is not endorsed to routinely test for herpes and genital warts with serology. Testing should be considered for herpes and genital warts, only if clinical signs and symptoms are present.
Special considerations
• Time spent waiting for availability of test results may be longer than in urban areas. Due to this, it may be common for persons to fail to return for results in regional/remote areas. A lower threshold for presumptive treatment may be appropriate.
• In regional/remote areas, treatment of gonorrhea may be different.
• Offering of cervical screening should be done according to the national screening guidelines.
• For health professionals working specifically in central and northern Australia, there is advice in the CARPA Manual.
Synopsis
• Populations in regional and remote areas have less access to medical care as opposed to those living in urban areas.
• Availability of specialist STI services is less likely for regional and remote areas and waiting times for appointments with GPs may be considerable.
• Persons in regional and remote areas may be reluctant to identify as Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) and LGBTI communities may be less evident in these areas.
• A high percentage of the population in many remote areas are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• There may be a low threshold for offering STI testing opportunistically for clinicians operating in local and remote areas.
• Knowing patients in a social …show more content…
• STI checks should be offered after contact with an STI patient and treatment should be carried out presumptively for the STI.
• When a person requests an STI check or when an STI is diagnosed, an STI check should be offered.
• It is not endorsed to routinely test for herpes and genital warts with serology. Testing should be considered for herpes and genital warts, only if clinical signs and symptoms are present.
Special considerations
• Time spent waiting for availability of test results may be longer than in urban areas. Due to this, it may be common for persons to fail to return for results in regional/remote areas. A lower threshold for presumptive treatment may be appropriate.
• In regional/remote areas, treatment of gonorrhea may be different.
• Offering of cervical screening should be done according to the national screening guidelines.
• For health professionals working specifically in central and northern Australia, there is advice in the CARPA Manual.