Online care for chlamydia with the eSexual Health Clinic study
SEQUENCE Digital is running a study of the eSexual Health Clinic, which is a safe and discreet way to get free chlamydia treatment online for people living in England. The study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and conducted by researchers at four UK universities. The study is sponsored by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.
About the study
What is the SEQUENCE Digital trial?
We are testing the eSexual Health Clinic in a trial across England from [insert approximate dates]. The trial aims to find out if the eSexual Health Clinic helps people get their treatment faster than going into clinic. The eSexual Health Clinic might be offered to you if you test positive for chlamydia. Patients who are eligible will receive a text message and a link to access the eSexual Health Clinic, which you can use if you want to get treatment online.
What is the eSexual Health Clinic?
It is an online sexual health clinic which offers treatment for chlamydia online. In the eSexual Health Clinic patients answer health questions, the same as they would in-clinic. If it is safe to do so, our clinical team will prescribe antibiotic treatment which can be picked up at a local pharmacy.
How is your data used in this trial?
Your information is used to help us research whether the eSexual Health Clinic can improve sexual health for our patients. As part of this trial, we use pseudonymised data from participating clinics in England. This is information about you which does not identify you. If you do not use the eSexual Health Clinic, your pseudonymised data may be shared with SEQUENCE Digital researchers in a format that does not allow researchers to know who you are (i.e., it will not contain your name or any other identifying details).
If you are offered the eSexual Health Clinic, your data will be kept confidential and is protected in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) [insert link] and the Data Protection Act 2018 [insert link]. Your data will be reviewed by our clinical team to provide clinical care. As the eSexual Health Clinic is part of a research trial, your pseudonymised data will be used for research purposes and shared with SEQUENCE Digital researchers. This will be in a format that does not allow researchers to know who you are (i.e., it will not contain your name or any other identifying details).
[For sex partners only: Some of your data will be shared with Preventx [insert link] in order to provide you will your home STI kit.] In addition, some of your data will be shared with CLEO Systems [insert link] to provide a prescription for chlamydia treatment to provide a prescription for chlamydia treatment. If you have the NHS app, you will be able to view your prescription there.
How do we make sure your data does not identify you?
If you choose not to use the eSexual Health Clinic or opts out of their data being used for research purposes, your data will be pseudonymised and then deleted from our system after 6 weeks. For example, your date of birth will be removed and replaced by age. Clinics involved in the trial will share pseudonymised data about patients’ treatment and number of sex partners with the researchers. This pseudonymised information will be used for research purposes.
If you haven’t been invited to use the eSexual Health Clinic, the clinic may share your pseudonymised data. This means that the data could not be used to identify you as an individual. The data shared includes age, gender, sex at birth, first half of postcode, LSOA (Lower Layer Super Output Areas), IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation), ethnicity, and treatment outcomes and number of sex partners. This pseudonymised information will be used for research purposes.
Why do we need this data?
This data will be used to help researchers see how well those who were offered the eSexual Health Clinic got on with their treatment, compared to those who were not offered the new system or decided not to use it.
Opting out of your data being used for research
You can choose to opt out of your data being used for this trial.
If you haven’t been invited to use the eSexual Health Clinic, you will need to contact the sexual health clinic where you got tested and ask them to not share your pseudonymised data for this trial. You can change your choice at any time.
If you have been invited to use the eSexual Health Clinic, but choose to opt-out of your data being used for research purposes, you will not be able to use the eSexual Health Clinic to get chlamydia treatment. You will need to find your local clinic [insert link] to access treatment.
Will choosing this opt-out affect your treatment?
No, choosing to opt-out will not affect your treatment. Your information will still be used for your individual care. However, you will not be able to use the eSexual Health Clinic for online care.
How long do we keep your data for?
Clinics will keep research data on site for a minimum of three years before sending it to be archived, this will allow time for the retrieval of any clinic-related research data should the research be selected for auditing. After the trial has ended research data will be stored for a minimum of 10 years, which is in line with NIHR guidance [insert link]. Access may be granted only by formal request to the sponsor’s office and is only available to members of the research team. Clinical records will be stored by the individual clinical sites according to current NHS practice.
