Garcia de Olalla P, Molas E, Barberà MJ, Martín S, Arellano E, Gosch M, Saladie P, Carbonell T, Knobel H, Diez E, Caylà JA. Effectiveness of a pilot partner notification program for new HIV cases in Barcelona, Spain.
PLoS One 2015;
10:e0121536. [PMID:
25849451 PMCID:
PMC4388637 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0121536]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 02/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
An estimated 30% of HIV cases in the European Union are not aware of their serological status. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a pilot HIV partner notification program.
METHODS
HIV cases diagnosed between January 2012 and June 2013 at two healthcare settings in Barcelona were invited to participate in a prospective survey. We identified process and outcome measures to evaluate this partner notification program, including the number of partners identified per interviewed index case, the proportion of partners tested for HIV as a result of the partner notification, and the proportion of new HIV diagnoses among their sex or needle-sharing partners.
RESULTS
Of the 125 index cases contacted, 108 (86.4%) agreed to provide information about partners. A total of 199 sexual partners were identified (1.8 partners per interviewed index case). HIV outcome was already known for 58 partners (70.7% were known to be HIV-positive), 141 partners were tested as result of partner notification, and 26 were newly diagnosed with HIV. The case-finding effectiveness of the program was 18.4%.
CONCLUSION
This pilot program provides evidence of the effectiveness of a partner notification program implemented in healthcare settings. This active partner notification program was feasible, acceptable to the user, and identified a high proportion of HIV-infected patients previously unaware of their status.
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