Getting down to it: understanding barriers to STI testing among young people

While young people are at high risk of contracting sexually transmissible infections (STIs), rates of STI testing remain low in this population. This may reflect that, due to a lack of research on determinants of STI testing, approaches used to promote STI testing in young people have mainly focussed on raising awareness and increasing knowledge of STIs and have not comprehensively addressed the many complex individual and social factors that may influence young people’s decision to test for STIs. To address the current gaps in research relating to STI testing and its determinants, the NSW STI Programs Unit commissioned the National Centre in HIV Social Research (NCHSR) to conduct a large-scale survey among young people in New South Wales, Australia, with the objective of strengthening the empirical evidence base regarding barriers to and facilitators of STI testing.