NACCHO recently hosted a webinar about the experiences of four local health departments implementing rapid syphilis testing. Syphilis rates around the United States are rising quickly and as a result, efforts to increase syphilis testing are urgently needed. One option for increasing testing is use of the rapid syphilis test (RST). In December 2014, the Food and Drug Administration granted the first-ever Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver for a rapid treponemal syphilis screening test, the Syphilis Health Check. As the test is relatively new, it is necessary to evaluate its performance in a variety of settings to determine optimal use of the test.
To explore promising practices of the RST in non-clinical settings, NACCHO conducted a multi-site evaluation with four local health departments. Settings for implementation included a jail, a college, bars, community events, and a homeless encampment. This webinar shared findings from the evaluation and the experiences of each health department. We hope the findings from this assessment will help other local health departments and their community partners determine whether RST is something they should consider incorporating into their programs.
Speakers include representatives from:
- Public Health Impact, LLC
- Salt Lake County Health Department (Utah)
- San Joaquin County Health Department (California)
- Crater Health District (Virginia)
- Pima County Health Department (Arizona)
- NACCHO
