title: Continuing Need for Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics After the Affordable Care Act.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We assessed the characteristics of sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic patients, their reasons for seeking health services in STD clinics, and their access to health care in other venues.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2013, we surveyed persons who used publicly funded STD clinics in 21 US cities with the highest STD morbidity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 4364 STD clinic patients we surveyed, 58.5% were younger than 30 years, 72.5% were non-White, and 49.9% were uninsured. They visited the clinic for STD symptoms (18.9%), STD screening (33.8%), and HIV testing (13.6%). Patients chose STD clinics because of walk-in, same-day appointments (49.5%), low cost (23.9%), and expert care (8.3%). Among STD clinic patients, 60.4% had access to another type of venue for sick care, and 58.5% had access to another type of venue for preventive care. Most insured patients (51.6%) were willing to use insurance to pay for care at the STD clinic.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite access to other health care settings, patients chose STD clinics for sexual health care because of convenient, low-cost, and expert care. Policy Implication. STD clinics play an important role in STD prevention by offering walk-in care to uninsured patients.
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Karen W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Hoover
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Bradley W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Parsell
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Jami S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Leichliter
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Habel
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Guoyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: Karen W. Hoover, Jami S. Leichliter, Melissa A. Habel, Guoyu Tao, William S. Pearson, and Thomas L. Gift are with the Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Bradley W. Parsell is with the National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Gift
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058991:Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D064876:Safety-net Providers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult