Sexually Transmitted Infection Management and Cost Analysis
Summary
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a major global public health challenge, driven by rising incidence, antimicrobial resistance and wide economic impacts. Effective management encompasses prompt diagnosis through nucleic acid amplification tests, tailored antimicrobial regimens, partner notification and linkage to care. Prevention strategies range from vaccination and behavioural interventions to expedited partner therapy and community outreach. Economic analysis is critical for prioritising interventions: direct medical costs include diagnostics, treatment and clinic visits, while indirect costs capture productivity losses and informal care. Cost‐of‐illness studies quantify the societal burden, and cost‐effectiveness models inform allocation of finite resources. Disparities in healthcare utilisation, influenced by socioeconomic status, geography and insurance coverage, shape both outcomes and expenditures. Integrated approaches that combine robust surveillance, evidence‐based clinical practice and economic evaluation are essential for achieving global targets to curb STI transmission and for guiding sustainable investments in prevention and care.
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Sexually Transmitted Infection Management and Cost Analysis publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sexually transmitted infection management and cost analysis across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Age-standardised incidence rate (ASR): The number of new cases per 100 000 population per year, adjusted to a standard age structure to enable comparison across regions or time periods.
Direct medical costs: Expenditures incurred for healthcare services directly related to diagnosis, treatment and management of STIs, including laboratory tests and medications.
Indirect costs: Economic losses not borne by healthcare providers, such as work absenteeism, reduced productivity and informal caregiving.
Cost-of-illness analysis: A methodological framework to estimate the total economic burden of a disease by combining direct and indirect costs within a defined population.
References
- Disparities of healthcare utilization in sexually transmitted diseases management: focusing on racial/regional variances with U.S. national inpatient sample in 2016–2019. Frontiers in Public Health (2025).
- Increasing incidence rates of sexually transmitted infections from 2010 to 2019: an analysis of temporal trends by geographical regions and age groups from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study. BMC Infectious Diseases (2022).
- Improving care for sexually transmitted infections. Journal of the International AIDS Society (2019).
- Intersectoral costs of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV: a systematic review of cost-of-illness (COI) studies. BMC Health Services Research (2021).
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