No abstract

Faced with a national 48-hour waiting time target and high non-attendance rates for booked appointments, our sexual health service sought patient preferences for appointment reminders. Questionnaires were distributed to 350 consecutive genitourinary medicine clinic attendees. Eighty-eight percent of respondents approved of appointment reminders, with text messaging being the preferred option. Automated voicemail reminders to mobile phones were acceptable to 84%. Patients would generally choose a voicemail reminder to their mobile phone as opposed to home or work phone, and this preference was more pronounced in younger patients (P = 0.03). The majority of patients considered reminders two or three days in advance sufficient notice, with 98% owning a mobile phone. Text or voicemail reminders may significantly reduce non-attendance rates and their associated costs, improve accessibility and reduce waiting times.

ObjectivesStudies have shown high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) in women living with HIV, but data from the UK are lacking. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of IPV and identify associated factors in women attending our inner London HIV clinic. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of women attending our HIV clinic in May to December 2011. Participants completed a standardized questionnaire and exposure to IPV was ascertained using a validated tool. Clinical data were collected from patient records. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AORs). ResultsThis analysis was based on 191 women with available data on IPV. The median age of women was 38 years (range 21-71 years); 74.1% were African-born Black. Over half (99 of 191; 52%) reported experiencing IPV in their lifetime, with 27 of 191 (14.1%) reporting IPV within the past year and 27 of 191 (14.1%) reporting it in pregnancy. Lifetime experience of IPV was associated with mental health problems [AOR 3.44; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24-9.57; P < 0.05] and 'other' Black (born outside sub-Saharan Africa) ethnicity (AOR 4.63; 95% CI 1.06-20.11; P < 0.05). We also found an association between older age and decreased likelihood of lifetime IPV (AOR 0.92; 95% CI 0.86-0.97; P < 0.05). ConclusionsOver half of the women in this study reported lifetime experience of IPV. We found associations between IPV and mental health problems, younger age and other Black ethnicity. In view of its high prevalence, we advocate greater awareness of IPV among HIV healthcare professionals and recommend universal screening.

This article discusses infective and malignant complications of HIV affecting the genitourinary tract in men. Immunosuppression increases both the frequency of infections, and the range of organisms that may be involved. Cancers are common and presentations may be atypical.