TY - JOUR
T1 - Effectiveness of a pilot partner notification program for new HIV cases in Barcelona, Spain
AU - De Olalla, Patricia Garcia
AU - Molas, Ema
AU - Barberà, María Jesús
AU - Martín, Silvia
AU - Arellano, Encarnació
AU - Gosch, Mercè
AU - Saladie, Pilar
AU - Carbonell, Teresa
AU - Knobel, Hernando
AU - Diez, Elia
AU - Caylà, Joan A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Garcia de Olalla et al.
PY - 2015/4/7
Y1 - 2015/4/7
N2 - 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.
AB - 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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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0121536
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0121536
M3 - Article
C2 - 25849451
AN - SCOPUS:84928922964
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 10
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 4
M1 - e121536
ER -