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Background: Timely notification and treatment of sexual partners exposed to a sexually transmitted disease (STD) is essential to reducing re-infection rates and transmission.
Objectives: 1) To determine factors associated with patient-initiated notification of sexual partners; and 2) To determine preferences of STD clinic clientele regarding standard partner referral versus expedited partner therapy.
Methods: Patients seeking care at a public STD Clinic who tested positive for gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, non-gonococcal urethritis or had a documented diagnosis within the past year were enrolled. Subjects were administered a survey asking about demographics, sexual history, behaviors, and partners, relationship quality, and partner treatment preferences. At 1-month follow-up, subjects with a current STD were asked whether they notified partners. The relationship between outcomes and predictors was assessed using Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact test, and the odds ratio was estimated by GEE or logistic regression.
Results: We enrolled 201 patients, 115 of which had a current STD diagnosis and completed follow-up. Ninety-percent of patients notified at least one sexual partner of an STD diagnosis, and 74% (157/204) of all reported partners were notified. The likelihood of partner notification was increased if partners had a long-term (>4 months) relationship with patients (OR=3.1; 95% CI 1.4, 6.6) or were considered to be patients' main partners (OR=2.5; 95% CI 1.2, 5.4). For partner treatment, females were almost twice as likely as males to prefer expedited partner therapy over standard referral methods, as were patients with higher levels of education or a prior STD history.
Conclusions: Partner notification is more commonly performed by individuals in longer or more serious relationships. While expedited partner therapy is preferred by certain STD clinic clientele, its role in partner management requires further study.
Implications for Programs, Policy, and/or Research: Improved strategies are needed to target short-term partners at high risk for STDs, as well as to educate patients regarding the importance of partner notification.