Howard Brown Health published its 2017 Epidemiology Report, which provides data and analysis of Howard Brown’s STI and HIV screening activities for 2012-2016. Highlighting trends over the five-year period, the report contains screening and positivity rates for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), behavioral and demographic information on clients accessing services, and the type of service accessed by year. The report’s data-centered content demonstrates Howard Brown Health’s leadership in public health in Chicago and Midwest region. Highlights include:

• Over the past five years, Howard Brown provided 63,889 tests for HIV, 74,018 tests for syphilis, 70,430 tests for gonorrhea, and 70,290 tests for chlamydia.
• HIV positivity dropped from 0.91 percent to 0.68 percent from 2015 to 2016.
• STI screening events that included extragenital (pharyngeal and/or rectal) tests increased from 20 percent in 2012 to 69 percent in 2016, improving diagnostic accuracy.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in tackling some urgent health concerns among our patient base, but we also know there is still much work to be done,” said Magda Houlberg, MD, Howard Brown’s Chief Clinical Officer. “The new Epidemiology Report illustrates the successes and challenges in our approach to public health,” said Laura Rusie, ScM, Director of Epidemiology for Howard Brown Health. In the past few years, Howard Brown has implemented routine, opt-out HIV testing in the primary care setting, expanded its Sexual and Reproductive Health Walk-in Clinic to Rogers Park, and expanded community testing to 17 sites across Cook County. For more information about Howard Brown, go to howardbrown.org.