Chlamydia Screening of Young Sexually Active, Medicaid-Insured Women by Race and Ethnicity, 2002-2005

Objective: To estimate chlamydia screening rates of young sexually active Medicaid-insured women by race and ethnicity and age from 2002 to 2005. Methods: Using Medicaid child claims data from the MarketScan database, we estimated the proportion of sexually active women aged 15 to 21 years screened for chlamydia by race and ethnicity and by age group (15-16, 17-18, and 19-21 years) using codes for medical diagnostic and procedural claims. Results: Overall, chlamydia screening increased from 34% in 2002 to 44% in 2005. In all years, black women had significantly higher screening rates compared with white women (e.g., 51% vs. 39% in 2005). When stratified by age. black women were still significantly more likely to be screened for chlamydia than white women. Conclusions: Although it is encouraging that screening has increased over time and that black women were more likely to be screened than white women, rates remain suboptimal for all women. Effective and targeted interventions are needed to improve chlamydia screening of young women. As interventions to increase screening are developed and implemented, the estimation method described in this article can be used to track chlamydia screening trends in racial and ethnic populations over time.