Attending an STI foundation course increases chlamydia testing in primary care, but not HIV testing

The Sexually Transmitted Infection Foundation course (STIF) is a recommended training course for UK general practitioners (GPs) and others delivering sexual health services in the community. We assessed the impact of attending the course on testing for HIV and chlamydia. Thirty-one GPs attending Brighton STIF courses were identified and the laboratory database was searched to identify all chlamydia and HIV tests they requested in the three months prior to attending, the first three months after attending and the subsequent three months. Three hundred and eight chlamydia tests were performed precourse, 390 postcourse and 342 in the following three months. This represented a significant increase from baseline to postcourse (P = 0.007), which was lost by three to six months (P = 0.25). The proportion of positives did not change. A total of 98, 111 and 131 HIV tests were performed in the three time periods of which; none were positive. Barriers other than training may need to be overcome to increase HIV testing in primary care.