Allegheny County is offering free, at-home kits to residents who want an easy way to test for sexually transmitted diseases.
Anyone ages 18 to 24 can apply for a kit, which tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Health officials said both diseases are increasingly prevalent in Allegheny County and nationally.
Five hundred kits are available as part of the initial pilot. Residents can order them for free online.
Deputy director of clinical services Barbara Nightingale said the program reduces some of the stigma associated with sexually transmitted diseases.
“Going to a place and asking for it—actually bringing it up with a health care provider—can be really hard,” Nightingale said.
The cost of commercial, at-home tests can also be prohibitive to patients. Many tests that are available to purchase online start at $50.
Nightingale said by offering free kits, the county health department can remove some of the barriers to recommended testing.
In 2021, 2,398 cases of gonorrhea were diagnosed in Allegheny County, a 6% increase from the previous year. That same year, the health department confirmed 5,715 cases of chlamydia, a one percent increase from 2020.
Nightingale said that once diagnosed, both diseases are easy to treat.
“So we want to be able to identify people so that we can get them treatment,” she continued.
If untreated, however, long-term infection can lead to problems with fertility and chronic pain.
The county is partnering with Color Health to offer the test kits. Color Health will mail the tests, perform lab testing on specimens and provide results to residents.
The county health department will also advertise the testing pilot program on dating apps, such as Tinder and Grindr.
If successful, Nightingale said the county will consider expanding at-home testing to include HIV and more common sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis.
