Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Burden of Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea infection has a low prevalence in the general population of the United States, but disproportionate effects are seen in subgroups of the population. Increased risk of gonorrhea infection has been found in the African American and men who have sex with men (MSM) communities, and is associated with low socioeconomic status.

This project will use a Markov cohort model to translate estimated disparities in incidence and prevalence of gonorrhea into estimates of cost and burden of disease, in terms of quality-adjusted life years lost. The model will also examine the potential health and economic consequences of different intervention strategies.

Our major research questions include:

• What is the impact of current ethnic disparities in gonorrhea epidemiology on health-related quality of life, disease burden and health care costs experienced by different racial and ethnic groups?
• What is the projected impact, and costs of different intervention strategies against gonorrhea, including those targeting ethnic disparities?