ArticleSexually transmitted infections2023
How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect access to condoms, chlamydia and HIV testing, and cervical cancer screening at a population level in Britain? (Natsal-COVID).
Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19's disruptions to cancer care pathways and widening of health inequalities in the UK: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- Article
- The waiting room: Unmet sexual health service needs among men and gender-diverse individuals having sex with men in England, findings from an online, cross-sectional community survey in 2024.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2026Article
- Disabled people faced greater challenges accessing sexual and reproductive health services in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Britain: evidence from the Natsal-COVID survey.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A surge in female condom distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic in Gauteng province, South Africa.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2025Article
- Challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's HIV harm reduction centers: a mixed-methods study.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Difficulty accessing condoms because of the COVID-19 pandemic reported by gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in the UK: findings from a large, cross-sectional, online survey.International journal of STD & AIDS · 2023Article
- Review
- Visits to Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinics in Italy from January 2016 to November 2021: A Multicenter, Retrospective Study.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- HIV testing and diagnosis in 2021 at the apex tertiary referral hospital of India: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic continued.Indian journal of sexually transmitted diseases and AIDSArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate how differential access to key interventions to reduce STIs, HIV and their sequelae changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsBritish participants (18-59 years) completed a cross-sectional web survey 1 year (March-April 2021) after the initial lockdown in Britain. Quota-based sampling and weighting resulted in a quasi-representative population sample. We compared Natsal-COVID data with Natsal-3, a household-based probability sample cross-sectional survey (16-74 years) conducted in 2010-2012. Reported unmet need for condoms because of the pandemic and uptake of chlamydia testing/HIV testing/cervical cancer screening were analysed among sexually experienced participants (18-44 years) (n=3869, Natsal-COVID; n=8551, Natsal-3). ORs adjusted for age and other potential confounders describe associations with demographic and behavioural factors.
resultsIn 2021, 6.9% of women and 16.2% of men reported unmet need for condoms because of the pandemic. This was more likely among participants: aged 18-24 years, of black or black British ethnicity, and reporting same-sex sex (past 5 years) or one or more new relationships (past year). Chlamydia and HIV testing were more commonly reported by younger participants, those reporting condomless sex with new sexual partners and men reporting same-sex partners; a very similar distribution to 10 years previously (Natsal-3). However, there were differences during the pandemic, including stronger associations with chlamydia testing for men reporting same-sex partners; with HIV testing for women reporting new sexual partners and with cervical screening among smokers.
conclusionsOur study suggests differential access to key primary and secondary STI/HIV prevention interventions continued during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was not strong evidence that differential access has changed during the pandemic when compared with 2010-2012. While the pandemic might not have exacerbated inequalities in access to primary and secondary prevention, it is clear that large inequalities persisted, typically among those at greatest STI/HIV risk.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.