Outreach services to brothels facilitate sexually transmissible infection testing for Asian sex workers in regional Australia

Abstract

Outreach services providing sexually transmissible infection (STI) testing on-site in brothels were introduced in 2012 by Pacific Clinic Newcastle, Australia. Asian female sex workers (FSW) were more likely than non-culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) FSW to access testing via outreach services than in clinics (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.82–3.11, P < 0.0001) and to test positive for chlamydia or gonorrhoea (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.58–4.20, P = 0.0001). Outreach services offering testing on-site in brothels are recommended to facilitate access for Asian FSW in similar settings.