RIDOH Highlights Encouraging STI Data Trends and Promising Prevention Efforts

In observance of National STI Awareness Week (April 12-19), the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is highlighting some encouraging trends in reducing the burden of sexually transmitted infections in Rhode Island. RIDOH is also promoting some of the innovative STI prevention strategies that have been implemented to reverse the increases in STI rates seen over the last decade.

In March, RIDOH released its 2024 HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Viral Hepatitis, and Tuberculosis Surveillance Report. After several years of substantial increases in reports of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and infectious syphilis, trends in Rhode Island are beginning to stabilize. Case counts declined in 2024 compared to 2023, and preliminary 2025 data suggest further decreases.

Over the past decade, reported chlamydia cases increased by 2.3%, from 4,575 cases in 2015 to 4,681 cases in 2024. Annual case counts peaked in 2019, with 5,717 cases reported, representing the highest burden in the past 10 years. Since that peak, reported cases have steadily declined. Notably, 2024 recorded the lowest number of chlamydia cases since 2015. But while there has been an overall drop in STIs, the burden of STIs is uneven among Rhode Island's at-risk populations.

New STI diagnosis rates in Rhode Island remain consistently high among adolescents, age 15-24. In 2024, RIDOH partnered with the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition to launch the RIght to Know web app (righttoknowapp.com), which provides adolescents and young adults with accurate information about sexual and reproductive health, as well as places across Rhode Island to access resources like care and condoms. In 2025, a new section was added with information and resources for parents to help talk to their teens about sexual health.

"As this report details, these conditions disproportionately affect some populations in Rhode Island," said Director of Health Jerry Larkin, MD. "RIDOH maintains a strong program to track these trends and tailor prevention and control efforts. While there is much more work to be done, we're very pleased to see data in our most recent report indicating that Rhode Island's innovative prevention efforts may be helping to reverse troubling STI trends."

Rhode Island saw an uptick of new HIV diagnoses in 2024. RIDOH noted this increase in real time and worked to enhance and expand prevention efforts. Rhode Island did not continue to see an increase in cases in 2025. Rhode Island's counts of newly diagnosed HIV cases in 2025 were below the State's 10-year average of 70 cases per year.

To help prevent ongoing HIV transmission, RIDOH launched the Rhode Island PrEP Champions Network in late 2024, creating a network of clinics that prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication for HIV prevention, as well as Doxy PEP, an STI prevention strategy that involves taking the antibiotic doxycycline after a risky sexual encounter to prevent bacterial STIs. There are now PrEP Champions clinics in every region of Rhode Island. Learn more about PrEP and the Rhode Island PrEP Champions Network at health.ri.gov/prep.

RIDOH has launched several other prevention and testing initiatives in recent years that may be helping to reverse increases in STIs seen in previous years:

-- RIDOH has created the TESTING 1-2-3 program to help Rhode Islanders get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) without a trip to a doctor's office. Learn more at testing123ri.com.

-- RIDOH's "Your Health, Your Choice: Know Your Options," and "Your Guide to Safer Sex" web page at health.ri.gov/youroptions highlights the many options Rhode Islanders can consider to help prevent HIV and other STIs. This includes guidance on safer sex, and information on a variety of HIV and STI testing services.

-- In 2025, RIDOH partnered with Dorcas International to develop a series of "What to Know About Health" fact sheets in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, and Khmer on HIV, STIs, tuberculosis, oral health, and vaccines.

NOTE: The lag between 2024 and early 2026 data is typical when assessing trends in this field. The data included in RIDOH's 2024 HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Viral Hepatitis, and Tuberculosis Surveillance Report represent the most accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date snapshot we have of HIV, STIs, viral hepatitis, and TB in Rhode Island.