<i>"It's not safe for me and what would it achieve?"</i> Acceptability of patient-referral partner notification for sexually transmitted infections to young people, a mixed methods study from Zimbabwe.

ABSTRACT: Partner notification (PN) is considered integral to the management of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Patient-referral is a common PN strategy and relies on index cases notifying and encouraging their partners to access treatment; however, it has shown limited efficacy. We conducted a mixed methods study to understand young people's experiences of PN, particularly the risks and challenges encountered during patient-referral. All young people (16-24 years) attending a community-based sexual and reproductive health service in Zimbabwe who were diagnosed with an STI were counselled and offered PN slips, which enabled their partners to access free treatment at the service. PN slip uptake and partner treatment were recorded. Among 1807 young people (85.0% female) offered PN slips, 745 (4

SUBMITTER: Lariat J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10424614 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature