Knowledge of chlamydia trachomatis among men and women approached to participate in community-based screening, Scotland, UK

Poor awareness and knowledge of Chlamydia trachomatis could be a barrier to uptake of screening. This study aimed to determine the level of awareness and knowledge of chlamydia among young people who were being approached in a variety of community settings and offered opportunistic screening. Men and women aged 16-24 years were approached in education, health and fitness, and workplace settings and invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire then provide a urine sample for chlamydia testing. Follow-up semi-structured interviews with 24 respondents were carried out after test results were received. Results 363 questionnaires were completed (43.5% from men). Whilst awareness of chlamydia was high, knowledge decreased as questions became increasingly focussed so that around half of respondents were unaware of the asymptomatic nature of chlamydia infections.