Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

In recent years, the number of Ontarians infected with syphilis has grown. A subgroup of this population, being women of childbearing age, is a concern due to their risk of a condition called congenital syphilis. Congenital syphilis occurs when a mother passes on a syphilis infection to their baby, which can lead to health outcomes during pregnancy, such as stillbirth, as well as devastating impacts on the baby’s wellbeing, such as nerve damage and death. Syphilis is an infection caused by bacteria, and can be treated with antibiotics. While Public Health Ontario (PHO) recommends that pregnant women be screened for syphilis in their first trimester or first prenatal visit, this does not always happen. As such, timely treatment before birth does not always occur. To better understand this issue, this project aims to identify the risk factors that make pregnant women in Ontario more likely to not be screened for syphilis, and more likely to test positive for syphilis if this screening occurs. Healthcare administrative data will be used to identify pregnant women (15-44 years of age) in Ontario between 2018 to 2022. This data will also be used to investigate risk factors for screening and syphilis infection such as injection drug-use and HIV status. Blood test results will be used to identify women with a syphilis infection. Statistical analysis will be conducted to see which risk factors are associated with missed screening and syphilis infection in pregnant women. Ultimately, this project aims to inform targeted efforts within Ontario to increase health equity among populations most at-risk for missed syphilis screening and infection during pregnancy.