Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (35)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Thomas, J. C.
Right arrow Articles by Earp, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Thomas, J. C.
Right arrow Articles by Earp, J. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 143, No. 3: 269-277
Copyright © 1996 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

Rural Gonorrhea in the Southeastern United States: A Neglected Epidemic?

James C. Thomas1,, Victor J. Schoenbach1, Debra H. Weiner1, Edith A. Parker2 and Jo Anne Earp2

1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
2Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC

Reprint requests to Dr. James Thomas, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, CB 7400, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599–7400

Some rural counties in the southeastern United States are experiencing high rates of gonorrhea; however, existing knowledge of epidemiologic patterns of gonorrhea within communities is from urban areas. This paper describes the epidemiology of gonorrhea within a rural country of North Carolina and compares it with the patterns described for large cities. Data include gonorrhea reports from private physicians and the county health department from August 11, 1992, to August 10, 1993, and ethnographic interviews. The rate among males (1,602 cases per 100,000 person-years) was twice that among females. The risk of reinfection within 6 months of an initial infection (12.9%) was high compared with risks in urban settings. Although case numbers did not cluster by geographical area as described for some cities, case rates did. Factors favoring transmission in rural communities include greater poverty and fewer health care resources than in urban settings, the exchange of sex for crack cocaine, and a lack of anonymity that may cause some people to avoid seeking treatment or acknowledging risky sexual behaviors in a clinical setting. Addressing high rural rates will entail improving access to care, taking extra measures to ensure confidentiality, and dispelling the myth that high rates are limited to cities.

gonorrhea; rural health; rural population; sexually transmitted diseases


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 AJPHHome page
J. C. Probst, C. G. Moore, S. H. Glover, and M. E. Samuels
Person and Place: The Compounding Effects of Race/Ethnicity and Rurality on Health
Am J Public Health, October 1, 2004; 94(10): 1695 - 1703.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Health Promot PractHome page
S. B. Thach, E. Eng, and J. C. Thomas
Defining and Assessing Organizational Competence in Serving Communities at Risk for Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Health Promot Pract, April 1, 2002; 3(2): 217 - 232.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. M. Ingram, W. C. Miller, V. J. Schoenbach, V. D. Everett, and D. L. Ingram
Risk Assessment for Gonococcal and Chlamydial Infections in Young Children Undergoing Evaluation for Sexual Abuse
Pediatrics, May 1, 2001; 107(5): 73e - 73.
[Abstract] [Full Text]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.