The Italian STD 'Hot-Line'. Making people aware.
BACKGROUND
To increase the accessibility of qualified and anonymous information on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Italy, a national telephone hotline was initiated in February 1997.


OBJECTIVE
The goal was to determine the profile of callers to the national STD hotline, assess their concerns, identify their sources for the hotline telephone number, and to compare callers' disease interests with diagnoses made at STD clinics.


METHODS
The survey analyzed 3577 calls received from February 1997 to December 1999. Hotline operators addressed callers' questions, asked 6 short-answer questions, and recorded the data collected.


RESULTS
The survey showed callers' sex distribution (49.8% women, 50.2% men), average age (women's mean+/-standard deviation [SD], 34.3 +/- 11.8 y; men's mean +/- SD, 36.2 +/- 12.2 y), level of education (66.4% had a secondary school degree), residence (47.9% northern part of Italy), risk category (44% reported being definitely infected by a STD), specific disease interest (30% were concerned about HIV), and source of hotline telephone number (67.3% learned the hotline telephone number from magazines or newspapers). Hotline callers' specific disease interests were compared with diagnoses made at STD clinics; the top 4 disease concerns of hotline callers were HIV, genital herpes, human papillomavirus/genital warts, and mycosis, whereas the top 4 diagnoses made at STD clinics were genital warts, nonspecific vaginitis, nonspecific urethritis, and genital herpes.


CONCLUSIONS
The hotline seems to be an effective way to deliver information and to allay fears about STDs, although it needs to be promoted more widely, especially in central and southern Italy.
Boselli
Fausto
F
Department of Gynecological, Obstetric and Pediatric Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. boselli@unimo.it
Chiossi
Giuseppe
G
Gallinelli
Andrea
A
D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011314:Preventive Health Services; D034121:Reproductive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*