Using a Mobile Outreach Model to Identify a Syphilis Cluster Among an Unstably Housed Encampment — Pima County, Arizona, 2025
- Presentation Day/Time: Thursday, April 23, 4:05 PM
- Presenter: Christine Wang, DVM, PhD, MPH, Pima County Health, Department and Arizona Department of Health Services
The Issue
- Syphilis in Pima County, Arizona increased from 2013 to 2024. Substance use disorders and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), like syphilis, are prevalent among persons experiencing homelessness in Pima County.
What We Did
- In January of 2025, the Pima County Health Department (PCHD) initiated mobile outreach events that effectively reached persons living in a geographically isolated encampment to provide harm reduction, clinical services, and STI screening.
What We Found
- Among 76 persons with one or more syphilis diagnostic tests performed, 15 (20%) met criteria as newly diagnosed syphilis cases. All new cases were treated for syphilis.
What This Means
- PCHD identified a syndemic (when two or more health problems happen at the same time and make each other worse) of syphilis and substance use among persons experiencing homelessness. A collaborative outreach model efficiently provided clinical services and epidemiological investigation among a hard-to-reach population at high risk for syphilis.
