Exploring attitudes towards gonorrhoea repeat infection in Brighton
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring attitudes of men who have sex with men towards gonorrhoea repeat infection in Brighton
IRAS ID
145856
Contact name
Lara Payne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Research summary
Gonorrhoea (GC) is a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to decreased fertility and an increased risk of spreading HIV. It is the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease. The number of newly identified cases of GC has risen by 25% in the UK over the last year. The causes of this increase in cases is not yet identified but a third of the cases of re-infection are in men who have sex with men (MSM). Brighton has a high prevalence of gonorrhoea. It has been noted that the same sample of patients continues to have a re-infection with gonorrhoea within a short time period of last treatment. This group is almost exclusively MSM and around half of these men are HIV positive.
We aim to identify MSM who have had at least one episode of treated GC within the last 2 years and one recent infection within the last year. We will conduct interviews to ascertain common themes in attitudes towards this infection so we can better understand behaviours that may be associated with an increased risk of reinfection. In order to answer these questions we will use a qualitative approach and sample a range of people who have been diagnosed with GC within the last year and had a previous infection within the last 2 years. We hope that by selecting those who have had multiple repeat infections in this time frame we can identify potential triggers for behavioural change as well as understand motivation behind risk taking behaviour. The sampling framework will be MSM as this population in Brighton is mainly affected by repeat infection.
Results from this study will help identify patients most at risk of re-infection and may inform the development of information and advice for patients to reduce the risk of reinfection.REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0723
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion