Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Ontario is facing a serious rise in syphilis infections. Syphilis can be treated effectively with just one penicillin injection, which prevents serious health issues and stops it from spreading. However, some people, especially those who are un(der)housed or are using drugs, are less likely to get tested or follow up with their test results. This research focuses on helping these individuals by addressing two key goals: 1.Understanding Preferences for Testing: The first goal is to figure out what kind of syphilis testing people who are unhoused or using substances prefer. The research will start by interviewing individuals from this population to help design survey questions. These questions will then be given to a larger group to understand what services they would be willing to use for testing. 2.Evaluating a Public Health Outreach Model: The second goal is to test how well a new outreach model of care works in eight Public Health Units in Ontario. The study will involve interviews and focus groups to see how willing and able Public Health Units and community organizations are to use this care model. The research will also look at who is being reached by comparing data such as demographic information and risk factors to estimate the number of syphilis cases among those using drugs or who are un(der)housed. In addition, the study will assess how effective the outreach model is by measuring how quickly people get diagnosed and treated, how many don't return for follow-up care, and how many test positive for syphilis before and after the model is implemented. The goal is to find out which approaches work best to stop the growing spread of syphilis and to create a system that other public health units can use to improve care.