Partner Services in Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention Programs: A Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Infectious Disease Control

Background:

• Partner services are a foundational element of public health STD prevention.
• Key objectives include interrupting disease transmission and reducing morbidity.
• This review informs current STD prevention program strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current literature on partner services for STD prevention.
• To identify effective interventions and inform program development.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search for reviews published between 2005 and 2014.
• Included 9 systematic reviews encompassing 108 studies.
• Abstracted conclusions and recommendations from selected reviews.

Main Results:

• Patient referral interventions like expedited partner therapy and interactive counseling showed efficacy.
• Provider referral via Disease Intervention Specialists was effective, especially for HIV.
• Partner notification generally reached high-prevalence groups, but may not be the most efficient method for identifying infected individuals.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing partner services requires balancing patient and provider referral interventions.
• Integrating partner notification with other STD prevention strategies is recommended.
• Program-level research and development are needed to create effective intervention portfolios for STD prevention.