Outcomes and Experiences of Men and Women with Partner Notification for HIV Testing in Tanzania: Results from a Mixed Method Study
Open accessAbstract
A growing evidence base supports expansion of partner notification in HIV testing services (HTS) in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Njombe region, Tanzania, to evaluate partner notification within facility-based HTS. Men and women newly diagnosed with HIV were enrolled as index clients and asked to list current or past sexual partners for referral to HTS. Successful partner referral was 2.5 times more likely among married compared to unmarried index clients and 2.2 times more likely among male compared to female index clients. In qualitative analysis, male as well as female index clients mentioned difficulties notifying past or casual partners, and noted disease symptoms as a motivating factor for HIV testing. Female index clients mentioned gender-specific challenges to successful referral. Women may need additional support to overcome challenges in the partner notification process. In addition to reducing barriers to partner notification specific to women, a programmatic emphasis on social strengths of males in successfully referring partners should be considered.
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Absence of STI symptoms or signs was noted as a reason not to notify partners.
“Absence of STI symptoms or signs were also noted as a reason not to notify partners (142, 149, 151, 167).”
From Updated recommendations for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Treponema pallidum (syphilis) and new recommendations on syphilis testing and partner services (2024) · cites this paper as [151]
The Results > Results: Qualitative section, under “Absence of Symptoms as a Barrier” (page unavailable), reports that a lack of symptoms of opportunistic infections was a reason for not seeking HIV testing. It does not say that an absence of STI signs was a reason for not notifying partners; in the quoted example, the client had approached her partners, who declined testing. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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References 31 · Cited by 50
Research works printed but not linked: 26
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- Authors
- Plotkin, M., Kahabuka, C., Christensen, A., Ochola, D., Betron, M., Njozi, M., Maokola, W., Kisendy, R., Mlanga, E., Curran, K., Drake, M., Kessy, E., & Wong, V.
- Affiliations
- Jhpiego (US)
- Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children (TZ)
- United States Agency for International Development (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Plotkin, Marya
- Venue
- AIDS and Behavior
- Published
- 2017-10-31
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 102-116
- ISSN
- 1090-7165 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3254
- PMC
- PMC5758678
- OpenAlex
- W2765286101
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7
- FWCI
- 3.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- AIDS and Behavior (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- United States Agency for International Development (Cooperative Agreement #AID OAA-A-11-00050)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Blood donation and transfusion practices
- Keywords
- partner notification, HIV testing services, facility-based HIV testing, gender differences, newly diagnosed HIV, sexual partners
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Mass Screening, Referral and Consultation, Sexual Partners, Tanzania, AIDS Serodiagnosis, HIV Infections, Contact Tracing, Qualitative Research, Young Adult
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