Skip to main content
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 1992 Jan-Feb;107(1):100–105.

HIV-infected men's practices in notifying past sexual partners of infection risk.

G Marks 1, J L Richardson 1, M S Ruiz 1, N Maldonado 1
PMCID: PMC1403608  PMID: 1738799

Abstract

The researchers studied the self-reported practices of men infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Los Angeles concerning notifying past sexual partners of their risk of infection. The sample of 111 men consisted of 87 Hispanics, 14 whites, 9 blacks, and 1 Asian. Ninety-three percent identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual, and 13 percent reported having injected a nonprescription drug. Seventy-five percent had tested HIV seropositive within the previous 8 months. Subjects were asked about notifying sexual partners with whom they had contact in the 12-months before the subject tested HIV seropositive. Of the 111 subjects, 39 (35 percent) reported that they had attempted to inform 1 or more past partners. Of those who attempted, 30 subjects (76.9 percent) reported notifying at least 1 partner. Overall, the 111 subjects reported a total of 926 individual sexual partners during the 12 months; 51 partners (5.5 percent) were informed of their risk by the subjects. A multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that those with the most past sexual partners were least likely to attempt to notify any partner. The same inverse relationship was obtained for actual notification and may stem in part from the greater frequency of nonidentifiable partners among those reporting many encounters. The extent and quality of posttest counseling regarding partner notification was not assessed. However, rates of attempted notification were nonsignificantly higher among those who received private professional counseling, who belonged to a support group, or who received social support from family or friends.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Full text

PDF
100

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adler M. W., Johnson A. M. Contact tracing for HIV infection. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1988 May 21;296(6634):1420–1421. doi: 10.1136/bmj.296.6634.1420. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bakeman R., McCray E., Lumb J. R., Jackson R. E., Whitley P. N. The incidence of AIDS among blacks and Hispanics. J Natl Med Assoc. 1987 Sep;79(9):921–928. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Coates R. A., Calzavara L. M., Soskolne C. L., Read S. E., Fanning M. M., Shepherd F. A., Klein M. H., Johnson J. K. Validity of sexual histories in a prospective study of male sexual contacts of men with AIDS or an AIDS-related condition. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Oct;128(4):719–728. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dimas James T., Richland Jordan H. Partner notification and HIV infections: misconceptions and recommendations. AIDS Public Policy J. 1989;4(4):206–211. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kegeles S. M., Catania J. A., Coates T. J. Intentions to communicate positive HIV-antibody status to sex partners. JAMA. 1988 Jan 8;259(2):216–217. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kelly J. A., St Lawrence J. S., Smith S., Jr, Hood H. V., Cook D. J. Stigmatization of AIDS patients by physicians. Am J Public Health. 1987 Jul;77(7):789–791. doi: 10.2105/ajph.77.7.789. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Marks G., Richardson J. L., Maldonado N. Self-disclosure of HIV infection to sexual partners. Am J Public Health. 1991 Oct;81(10):1321–1322. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.10.1321. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Potterat J. J., Spencer N. E., Woodhouse D. E., Muth J. B. Partner notification in the control of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Am J Public Health. 1989 Jul;79(7):874–876. doi: 10.2105/ajph.79.7.874. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Saltzman S. P., Stoddard A. M., McCusker J., Moon M. W., Mayer K. H. Reliability of self-reported sexual behavior risk factors for HIV infection in homosexual men. Public Health Rep. 1987 Nov-Dec;102(6):692–697. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Selik R. M., Castro K. G., Pappaioanou M. Racial/ethnic differences in the risk of AIDS in the United States. Am J Public Health. 1988 Dec;78(12):1539–1545. doi: 10.2105/ajph.78.12.1539. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Thelin I., Wennström A. M., Mårdh P. A. Contact-tracing in patients with genital chlamydial infection. Br J Vener Dis. 1980 Aug;56(4):259–262. doi: 10.1136/sti.56.4.259. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Vernon T. M., Hoffman R. E. Contact tracing to control the spread of HIV. JAMA. 1988 Dec 9;260(22):3274–3275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Wigfield A. S. 27 years of uninterrupted contact tracing. The 'Tyneside Scheme'. Br J Vener Dis. 1972 Feb;48(1):37–50. doi: 10.1136/sti.48.1.37. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Wykoff R. F., Heath C. W., Jr, Hollis S. L., Leonard S. T., Quiller C. B., Jones J. L., Artzrouni M., Parker R. L. Contact tracing to identify human immunodeficiency virus infection in a rural community. JAMA. 1988 Jun 24;259(24):3563–3566. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES