Management of Chlamydia Cases in Australia (MoCCA)

Project Details

MOCCA


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 Jane Hocking

Professor Lena Sanci

Professor Rebecca Guy (Kirby Institute)

Professor Christopher Fairley (Melbourne Sexual Health Centre)

Professor Meredith Temple-Smith

A/Prof David Regan (Kirby Institute)

Dr Natalie Carvalho

Professor Julie Simpson

Professor Basil Donovan (Kirby Institute)

Associate Investigators:

Prof Jane Tomnay

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

Research Group

Sexual Health


Faculty Research Themes

Infection and Immunology

School Research Themes

Disparities, disadvantage and effective health care, Screening and early detection of disease


Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact the research group leader.

Department / Centre

Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

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