Young working women utilise the after hours service at Sydney Sexual Health Centre

Objective: To analyse patterns of patient utilisation of the after hours se rvice at Sydney Sexual Health Centre (SSHC). Method: A retrospective cross sectional database study compared all new day time and after hours patients who registered for a medical consultation at SSHC between August 1994 and February 1995. Daytime and after hours attende rs were compared using demographic and behavioural factors and for prevalen ce of STDs and HIV using logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the 1662 eligible patients, 1362 (81.9%) attended during daytim e hours, and 300 (18.1%) attended after hours. There was no significant dif ference in after hours attendance between patients living in inner compared with outer metropolitan zones. Using logistic regression analysis, being f emale (p=0.0008), being between 20 and 39 years of age (p=0.008), being emp loyed (p<0.001), and having no previous STD/genitourinary condition (p=0.03 4) were the factors significantly associated with after hours attendance. Conclusions: The evening service was disproportionately utilised by a patie nt group not defined as "high risk" in the objectives of the service. This study challenges the assumption that evening clinics are always the way to reach high risk groups.