Pilot study to introduce a notification card for partner notification of sexually transmitted infections in Catalonia, Spain, June 2010 to June 2011

We conducted a cross-sectional study in 10 primary care centres in Catalonia, to determine applicability, acceptability and effectiveness of partner notification cards used by patients diagnosed of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and to characterise these and their sexual partners. Statutoril...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles Vol. 18; no. 27; pp. 1 - 8
Main Authors:	Tuneu, Mj, Valles, X, Carnicer-Pont, D, Barbera, Mj, Godoy, P, Avecilla-Palau, A, Jorda, B, Lopez-Grado, E, Rivero, D, Vives, A, Acera, A, Almirall, R, Crespo, N, Casabona, J, The Partner Notification Study Group, C
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Sweden Centre Europeen pour la Surveillance Epidemiologique du SIDA (European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS) 04-07-2013 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Subjects:	Adolescent Adult Catalonia Catalunya Contact Tracing - methods Contact Tracing - trends Control d'infeccions Cross-Sectional Studies Female HIV Human immunodeficiency virus Humans Infection control Malalties de transmissió sexual Male Medical diagnosis Middle Aged Pilot Projects Primary care Public health Sexual behavior Sexual Partners Sexually transmitted diseases Sexually Transmitted Diseases - diagnosis Sexually Transmitted Diseases - epidemiology Spain - epidemiology STD Surveys and Questionnaires Young Adult Spain Catalonia Spain
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Summary:	We conducted a cross-sectional study in 10 primary care centres in Catalonia, to determine applicability, acceptability and effectiveness of partner notification cards used by patients diagnosed of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and to characterise these and their sexual partners. Statutorily notifiable STIs included Chlamydia infection, gonorrhoea, syphilis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or other STIs as deemed necessary by the treating physician. Between June 2010 and June 2011, 219 index cases were enrolled, of whom 130 were men (59.4%), 71 of them men who have sex with men (54.6%). Chlamydia infection (41.1%), gonorrhoea (17.8%) and syphilis (16.0%) were the STIs most frequently diagnosed. HIV infection accounted for 4% of cases. A total of 687 sexual partners were reported, and 300 of these were traceable through the notification card (45.7%). Those who did not report traceable contacts were older (mean age: 34 years versus 31 years, p=0.03). The main reason for not distributing the card was anonymous sexual intercourse (38%). Patient referral notification cards can reach a high percentage of sexual partners at risk. However, only few notified sexual partners attended participating health centres. Internet-based partner notification may be considered in order to reach those partners not otherwise traceable.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1560-7917 1025-496X 1560-7917
DOI:	10.2807/1560-7917.ES2013.18.27.20516