Management of Chlamydia Cases in Australia (MoCCA)
Project Details
Looking for our study website? Click here: https://www.mocca.org.au/
Management of Chlamydia Cases in Australia (MoCCA) is a National Health and Medical Research Council-funded Partnership Grant that that seeks to address gaps in chlamydia management in Australian general practice. In particular, MoCCA focuses on improving testing for repeat infection within recommended timeframes, improving partner management, and increasing clinician confidence in diagnosing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
In the early stages of MoCCA we focused on better understanding the general practice context for chlamydia management. This involved both interviews and surveys with health consumers, general practitioners, and other general practice staff about how chlamydia infections are managed in general practice.
Drawing on these findings, we developed a model of care to support chlamydia management in general practice, which we piloted in general practice clinics in New South Wales and Queensland. The model of care includes our website (which you can find here: https://www.mocca.org.au/), and other resources and strategies for integrating best practice chlamydia management into routine care. All of our resources and strategies are available on our website.
Interested in participating?
We are recruiting general practice clinics to participate in MoCCA. If you are a GP, practice nurse or practice manager and think your practice might be interested in participating, please contact us at We are currently recruiting clinics to participate in the MoCCA study for a period of up to 18 months. Clinics will be asked to implement interventions designed to strengthen management of genital chlamydia infections. These interventions focus on partner management, retesting within recommended timeframes, and increasing clinician confidence in diagnosing PID. If you are a GP, practice nurse or practice manager and think your practice might be interested in participating, please contact us at mocca-info@unimelb.edu.au or head to our website for more information: https://www.mocca.org.au/participating-clinics/whats-involved
Study Findings
Interested in our study findings? The following study summaries are available:
Thank you to all who have participated in the project so far.
Background to the project:
Chlamydia trachomatis (‘chlamydia’) is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide and can have serious complications - 17% of cases will lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) equating to over 30,000 cases per year in Australia. The risk of PID increases up to 4-fold in women who become reinfected, with very high reinfection rates among women in Australia (22% per year). Chlamydia can also lead to ectopic pregnancy and tubal factor infertility.
In Australia over 80% of chlamydia cases are diagnosed in general practice, making it a critical sector for chlamydia control. Our past research the Australian Chlamydia Control Effectiveness Pilot (ACCEPt) has shown that chlamydia control policy must prioritise case management. through effective partner management to prevent reinfection, timely re-testing after treatment to detect re-infection earlier and improved detection of PID.
Australian researchers have been at the forefront of research to identify effective innovative interventions for partner management, chlamydia retesting and PID management in sexual health and family planning clinics. What is needed now, is to translate these interventions into general practice where the majority of chlamydia infections are diagnosed and managed.
The aim of the project is to reduce the burden of chlamydia infection by scaling up an integrated model of chlamydia case management in general practice. The project objectives are:
*Develop and refine an integrated model of chlamydia case management for implementation.
*Evaluate the clinical uptake, impact and cost-effectiveness of the model.
*Develop an implementation plan for scaling up the model.
The project commenced in mid-2018 and is due for completion in 2024.
If you have any questions about the study please email mocca-info@unimelb.edu.au and a member of the research team will get back to you.
Researchers
Chief Investigators:
Professor Rebecca Guy (Kirby Institute)
Professor Christopher Fairley (Melbourne Sexual Health Centre)
Professor Meredith Temple-Smith
A/Prof David Regan (Kirby Institute)
Professor Basil Donovan (Kirby Institute)
Associate Investigators:
Dr Lara Roeske (RACGP)
A/Prof Marcus Chen (Melbourne Sexual Health Centre)
Prof Claudia Estcourt (Glasgow Caledonian University)
Dr David Hawkes (VCS Foundation)
Staff:
Dr Jane Goller, Research Fellow
Dr Jacqueline Coombe, Research Fellow
Helen Bittleston, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate
Collaborators
- New South Wales Ministry of Health
- Victorian Government Department of Health
- Queensland Health
- North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network
- Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network
- Sexual Health Victoria (formerly Family Planning Victoria)
- Family Planning NSW
- True Relationships & Reproductive Health
- VCS Foundation
- Sydney Sexual Health Centre
Funding
NHMRC Partnership Project (APP1150014)
Research Opportunities
This research project is available to PhD students, Honours students to join as part of their thesis.
Please contact the Research Group Leader to discuss your options.
Research Publications
- Coombe, J., Goller, J., Bittleston, H., Vaisey, A., Sanci, L., Groos, A., Tomnay, J., Temple-Smith, M., Hocking, JS., ‘Sexually transmissible infections, partner notification and intimate relationships: a qualitative study exploring the perspectives of general practitioners and people with a recent chlamydia infection’ Sexual Health 2020; online early
- Goller, J., Coombe, J., Bourne, C., Bateson, D., Temple-Smith, M., Tomnay, J., Vaisey, A., Chen, Marcus Y., O’Donnell, H., Groos, A., Sanci, L., Hocking, J. ‘Patient delivered partner therapy for chlamydia in Australia – can it become part of routine care? Sexual Health 2020; 17, 321-329.
- Coombe, J., Goller, J., Vaisey, A., Bourne, C., Sanci, L., Bateson, D., Temple-Smith, M., Hocking, J., ‘New best practice guidance for general practice to reduce chlamydia associated reproductive complications in women’. Australian Journal of General Practice 2021;50(1-2):50-4. DOI: 10.31128/AJGP-04-20-5330
- Layton E, Vaisey A, Goller JL, Coombe J, Temple-Smith M, Hocking J. The views of patients and partners towards patient-delivered partner therapy for chlamydia: A systematic review. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2020;47(12):791-7. DOI: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000001260.
- Layton E, Goller JL, Coombe J, Temple-Smith M, Tomnay J, Vaisey A, Hocking, J.S. ‘It’s literally giving them a solution in their hands’: the views of young Australians towards patient-delivered partner therapy for treating chlamydia. Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2021; Online First: 13 January 2021. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2020-054820
- Goller JL, Coombe J, Bittleston H, Bourne C, Bateson D, Vaisey A, Tomnay J, O'Donnell H, Garret C, Estcourt CS, Temple-Smith M, Hocking JS. Patient delivered partner therapy for chlamydia infection is used by some general practitioners, but more support is needed to increase uptake: findings from a mixed-methods study. Sex Transm Infect. 2022 Jun;98(4):298-301. doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2020-054933 .
- Coombe J, Goller J, Bittleston H, Bateson D, Bourne C, O'Donnell H, Tomnay J, Temple-Smith M, Hocking JS. Patient-delivered partner therapy: One option for management of sexual partner(s) of a patient diagnosed with a chlamydia infection. Aust J Gen Pract. 2022 Jun;51(6):425-429. doi: 10.31128/AJGP-07-21-6066.
- Goller J, Bateson D, Williams H, Hocking J. How to treat pelvic inflammatory disease. Australian Doctor. 2022(1 April):17-23. Access to this article requires an Australian Doctor account. Click here to access the article if you already have an Australian Doctor account, or click here to register.
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