The NEXUS Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Sociodemographic, behavioural and attitudinal drivers of syphilis among heterosexual-identifying people in England: The NEXUS study.
IRAS ID
316210
Contact name
Hamish Mohammed
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UKHSA
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2023/05/10 health research, UCL Data Protection
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Syphilis has been relatively rare in England, but the number of new diagnoses has escalated in recent years. Most cases of syphilis are found among men who have sex with men but diagnoses among heterosexuals have also increased, from 775 in 2013 to 1,626 in 2019.
Syphilis is a complex, multistage disease which is usually passed on during sex. Antibiotics are highly effective but untreated syphilis can lead to serious complications. Congenital syphilis, which is passed from mother to baby during pregnancy, can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death.
The NEXUS study aims to better understand the spread of syphilis among heterosexuals in England. It is funded by the National Institute for Health Research and led by University College London (UCL) in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The purpose of the study is to inform syphilis prevention, clinical practice and public health policy.
One-to-one qualitative interviews (60-90 minutes) will be conducted with up to 40 heterosexually identified men and women who have been diagnosed with early stage-syphilis and 10 healthcare professionals with experience of working with this service user population (30-40 minutes). Participants will be recruited from selected sexual health clinics in London, the Northeast and the East of England.
Interviews will be carried out by researchers from UCL and/or UKHSA, by telephone or video calling software. Service user participants will be asked about their syphilis testing, diagnosis and treatment; their sexual partners and behaviour; their lifestyle; and their healthcare information needs. Healthcare professionals will be asked about the reasons for the increase in syphilis diagnoses among heterosexuals.
The results will be shared with healthcare services, policy makers, academics and service users. The findings from this study will help us better understand the spread of syphilis among heterosexuals, how best to stop it spreading further and how to improve our healthcare services.REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0699
Date of REC Opinion
22 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion