Sexually transmitted infections (STIs or STDs) cause a heavy and avoidable burden on the health care system, especially emergency departments . 19 million STDs are diagnosed every year in the US and cost the economy 16 billion dollars with HIV and HPV responsible for the heaviest cost burden. They also cause a heavy burden on the socio-economically disadvantaged and ethno-racial minorities with African Americans and Hispanics having a much higher risk of acquiring STDs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HPV related cancers like cervical and anal cancer. The clinical significance of STDs goes beyond the context of HIV to cancers from HPV, mortality from congenital syphilis and infertility from chlamydia and gonorrhea. This talk will focus on the factors driving the disparities seen in rates of STDs, the most evidenced based strategies to address these epidemics and will use data from the Dallas-Forth Worth Hospital Council Emergency Rooms to demonstrate heavy patterns of STD testing in the ER. Data from the Parkland- UTSW PROSPR Cervical Cancer cohort will also be used to demonstrate health care delivery gaps in cervical cancer screening for women, which impacts the high rates of cervical cancer diagnosed every year at Parkland.

Download Protocol