Abstract
BackgroundEffective control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) depends on affected patients notifying their sexual partners, and partners following through with screening and treatment. Our study assessed high-risk-STI women’s confidence in STI-diagnosis-related communications with their primary male partners in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and determined associated characteristics of the women and their partners.MethodsWe employed convenience and snowball sampling in a clinic-based setting to recruit 126 women from August to October 2013. All data were obtained from women’s self-report.ResultsThe proportions of participants who were “slightly confident” or “very confident” that they could disclose their STI positivity to partners, ask partners to have an STI examination or treatment, and give partners bacterial-STI medications were 70.3 %, 62.1 %, and 69.0 %, respectively. The proportions who perceived that their partners would be “very likely” to have an STI examination and to take STI medications were 16.2 % and 38.8 %, respectively. Significantly lower self-efficacy was observed in women who had a lower education level, who had ever traded sex, or whose primary partners were not husbands or fiancés.ConclusionsOur results suggest potential for piloting STI-partner-targeted interventions. To be effective, these programs should improve women’s self-efficacy and primary partners’ cooperation with screening and treatment.
Highlights
Effective control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) depends on affected patients notifying their sexual partners, and partners following through with screening and treatment
Partner notification can be done by health care professionals, a recent systematic review showed that the relative effect of providerled partner referral was not consistent and was not significantly superior to other patient-led methods [7]
Examples of these are patient-led partner referral and patient-delivered partner treatment, of which the acceptability and effectiveness have been documented in several studies [7,8,9,10,11]
Summary
Effective control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) depends on affected patients notifying their sexual partners, and partners following through with screening and treatment. Our study assessed high-risk-STI women’s confidence in STI-diagnosis-related communications with their primary male partners in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and determined associated characteristics of the women and their partners. In developing countries such as Vietnam, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and their complications are one of the top five reasons that adults seek health care [1]. Understanding factors related to partner referral is necessary to the success of partner-targeted interventions in preventing STIs; these factors have been insufficiently assessed in women who are diagnosed with a STI in Vietnam
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