At a glance
Jurisdictions are leaning into targeted STI prevention and treatment strategies by focusing on the needs and interests of local communities and delivering partnerships invested in meeting people where they are.
June 2023
The Sexually Transmitted Disease and Viral Hepatitis Section of the Division of Disease Control and Health Protection of Florida's Department of Health, and frequent partner Florida A&M University, have joined forces again to create a data modernization project for electronic processing of chlamydia and gonorrhea test results. The new system, launched during the summer/fall of 2022, uses informatics to analyze sexually transmitted infection (STI) test results for Florida residents from labs all across the country — rapidly determining new and repeat infections, potential outbreaks, and prioritization of cases for field investigation. This kind of data modernization, a CDC priority, has the potential to save thousands of work hours a year. The new project, funded in part through a CDC-supported grant provided by the National Association of County and City Health Officials, is also training our future public health leaders: Florida A&M public health students are evaluating the overall process to confirm efficiency and to identify possible enhancements. The collaborators hope to incorporate analysis for other STIs, such as syphilis and HIV, in the future.