The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection rates of Puerto Rican adolescents and failure to follow the retesting protocol, failure of sexual partners to receive treatment, and failure to participate in the sexual orientation program about risk factors. Secondary data analysis, from a historical prospective study from the Health Department of Puerto Rico, was used in this study. Data analysis was restricted to adolescents 15 to 19-years-old who had a positive chlamydia result and reinfection pattern since January 2008 through December 2012. Multiple logistic regression analyses were run to predict Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection. Results showed a statistically significant association association between Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection and not having followed the retesting protocol (OR=1.243, 95% CI 1.089-2.930, p-value 0.038). A statistically significant association association was found between Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection and sexual partners having not received treatment (OR=1.713, 95% CI 0.761-2.024, p-value 0.029). A statistically significant association was found between Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection and having not participated in the Puerto Rico Department of Health's sexual orientation program (OR=1.243, 95% CI 0.762-2.026, p-value 0.034). The contribution to social change is identifying factors significantly associated with Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection. Study findings provide useful guidance for clinicians and public health professionals on how to reduce Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection rates among at risk Puerto Rican adolescents.

Thesis (MPH.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / Setting: The study was undertaken in St Rita’s Hospital, a district hospital for healthin Makhuduthamaga Municipality, Sekhukhune District, Limpopo Province. The purpose of the study was to describe client experiences of HIV-positive post-disclosure tosexual partners at St Rita’s Hospital, Limpopo Province. A qualitative, descriptive and phenomenological design was used. Purposive sampling was used to select 15 HIV- positive clients to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection until saturation was reached. Data analysis was done using Techs open-coding method. Research findings: The study found that most of the clients were shocked and worried after testing HIV-positive. Participants whose sexual partners were aware that they were sick, indicated their wish to test and to immediately disclose their HIV-positive status. The study identified that some women found it difficult to disclose their HIV-positive status to sexual partners and continued to have unprotected sex in spite of ongoing counselling and support provided at the clinic. Some women participants who disclosed to sexual partners were accepted and some were rejected by sexual partners. Some women who disclosed their HIV-positive status to sexual partners were unable to motivate sexual partners to be counselled together and have mutual disclosure. These participants therefore continued to have unprotected sex with sexual partners and some became pregnant as sexual partners indicated that they tested HIV-negative elsewhere and were not keen to use condoms. Female participants did not indicate the use of female condoms as part of their responsibility to prevent transmission of HIV. Implications, recommendations and conclusions: The barriers which female participants face to disclose their HIV-positive status to sexual partners and not being able to insist on the use condoms may contribute to a high rate of HIV transmission and disease incidence. There should be establishment of consortiums at community level to provide quality support and follow up to clients who face challenges or fear to disclose their HIV-positive status to sexual partners. KEYWORDS • Clients’ experiences • Disclosure • Experiences, • Sexual partner • HIV-positive

Thesis (D.P.H.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 25, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-142).

Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its association with head and neck cancers (HNCs) have been established by many studies. The characteristics of HPV-associated HNCs are distinguishable from those of non HPV-associated HNCs. HPV-associated HNCs are related to sexual behaviour, particularly the lifetime number of oral sex partners. The oral and oropharyngeal HPV epidemiology in South African men has not yet been researched. The objective of this study was to determine the oral and oropharyngeal HPV strain prevalence and associated factors in a selected male population in Pretoria, South Africa. Male factory workers were recruited on a voluntary basis to be part of this study. Oral rinse and gargle samples were tested for 37 HPV types using the HPV linear array genotyping kit (Roche Molecular System). A questionnaire was utilised to obtain information regarding age, medical conditions, substance and alcohol use and sexual behaviour. HIV testing was optional. The HPV prevalence was 5.6% among the men (n=125) aged 17-64 years. High risk HPV (hrHPV) types 16 and 68 were found in two men. Amongst the majority of the participants oral sex seemed to be an uncommon practice however, those participants with hrHPV did practice oral sex. A statistically significant association between HPV infection and an increased number of sexual partners (p=0.027) was seen but not between substance use, HIVstatus or clinical mucosal pathology. Considering the oral and oropharyngeal HPV prevalence found in this study compared to those reported in other countries. It is therefore proposed that a larger nationwide study be conducted to give a more representative view of the burden of oral and oropharyngeal HPV infection in South Africa. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Community Dentistry / MSc / Unrestricted

Despite enormous research on the experience of living with HIV, many questions remain regarding self-disclosure of HIV status to sexual partners by people living with HIV (PLWHIV), which is essential to reducing further infection. In this study, a phenomenological approach captured the experience of self-disclosure among South Africans living with HIV in Louwsburg, South Africa. The health belief model served as a theoretical framework, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 PLWHIV (8 women, 4 men) who self-disclosed their HIV status to their sexual partners. Their experiences were explored, discovering their illness, motives for self-disclosure, feelings regarding disclosing, responses of their sexual partners, their emotional reaction, and about their medical care. The themes rose from interviews showed that (a) many PLWHIV are reluctant to self-disclose until they actively experienced health issues; (b) motives for disclosure include the wish to ensure fairness; support and to empower other PLWHIV to prevent further infection; (c) feelings of disclosure are primarily relief and liberation, even though risks remain, especially for families separated by labor migration laws; (d) the response of sexual partners to disclosure varies widely; some are motivated to get tested and use condoms, decline and respond only with anger, blame, even abandonment; and (e) after accessing medical care, most PLWHIV reported support and appearing less sick, which reduces social stigma. The women were more open, forthcoming, and transparent about disclosing than men participants. Findings will assist with the creation of future health education programs aimed at creating safe environments to disclose HIV status, which may reduce community risk of contracting the virus.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze potential predictors of accumulating casual vs. committed sexual partners in emerging adulthood. Using a large, national sample of emerging adults in the United States, I examined how alcohol use and attachment orientation differentially predicted accumulating casual and committed sexual partners. I found that higher anxious attachment positively predicted the number of committed sexual partners, while higher avoidant attachment negatively predicted the number of casual sexual partners. I also found that alcohol use positively predicted both the number of casual and committed sexual partners emerging adults accumulated. Further, I tested the strength of the various associations and found that anxious attachment more strongly predicts committed sexual partners, while avoidant attachment and alcohol use more strongly predict casual sexual partners. This work highlights the need for scholars to distinguish between the type of sexual partners emerging adults accumulate during this time of life.

This dissertation tests if a young adult’s social location determines what type of information he or she will receive about sexual health from parents and formal sexual education programs. I also test whether sexual education mediates direct associations between social location and 4 protective sexual health behaviors: condom communication, consistent condom use, delaying sexual debut, and reducing the number of lifetime sexual partners. Using the 2011-2013 wave of the National Survey of Family Growth, I look for differences in sexual education and engaging in protective sexual health behaviors among white, Hispanic, and African American men and women ages 15-24. I find that communication about sex from parents and formal sex education programs varies by race and gender. I also find that direct associations exist between social location, parental communication, formal sexual education, and protective sexual health behaviors. However, all of these operate independently from one another, and I find that parental communication and formal sexual education does little to mediate the direct associations between social location and protective sexual behaviors. Policy implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

A denominada ¨resposta brasileira à epidemia de aids¨ é exemplar pelas suas políticas e iniciativas públicas, incitando continuamente a emergência de desafios à atenção à saúde das pessoas vivendo com HIV. Um deles diz respeito a uma questão polêmica, ainda que pouco debatida no cenário nacional: a comunicação de diagnóstico de HIV aos parceiros sexuais de pessoas soropositivas. Por um lado, essa questão evoca a responsabilidade pelo controle da cadeia de transmissão do HIV. Por outro, há a preocupação com o bem estar psicossocial do paciente em suas relações afetivo-sexuais, conjugais e familiares. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi apreender, através dos discursos de sujeitos envolvidos nessa prática, como essas distintas lógicas - de uma perspectiva coletiva, informada pelos pressupostos da Saúde Pública e de uma tônica no indivíduo e suas singularidades - são operadas e articuladas nas práticas de comunicação de diagnóstico de HIV a parceiros sexuais, em serviços de saúde especializados em DST/aids, do Município de São Paulo. Trata-se de estudo qualitativo, orientado pelos discursos de profissionais de saúde, de membros da Comissão Nacional de Aids, de técnicos em vigilância epidemiológica e pacientes, captados através de grupos, focal e educativo, e de entrevistas individuais em profundidade, com roteiro semi-estruturado, entre 2007-2008. A base teórica para interpretação dos discursos combina aportes conceituais sobre a Esfera Pública e a Teoria da Ação Comunicativa (Habermas), e sobre o Cuidado (Ayres). A comunicação de diagnóstico de HIV aos parceiros sexuais apresenta-se como uma questão que, embora importante, não alcança esferas de debates públicos com os diferentes atores sociais envolvidos. Na prática, a lógica epidemiológica não se materializa nem é almejada sob a forma de ações clássicas da vigilância epidemiológica, como a busca de comunicantes. São valores implicados em seus pressupostos, contrastados com aqueles das esferas privadas e íntimas, que parecem tornar problemática a comunicação de diagnóstico de HIV ao parceiro sexual. Dentre as estratégias utilizadas pelos profissionais, oscila-se entre a ameaça (de cunho policialesco) e a cumplicidade (que trata a comunicação como um problema íntimo). O principal foco dessas iniciativas é minimizar o estigma que cerca o portador do vírus. Da amplitude das interpretações e proposições que consideram o estigma nas práticas de saúde, vislumbra-se que a sua ativa problematização nas situações concretas da atenção pode ser um caminho possível e prático para o seu enfrentamento, por meio da criação de repertórios argumentativos. Esse modo peculiar de fazer face ao estigma pode deslocar as perspectivas, higienista e de regulação jurídica, para horizontes normativos técnica, ética e politicamente relevantes para integrar comunicação de diagnóstico de HIV ao parceiro sexual e atenção à saúde das pessoas vivendo com HIV. / The Brazilian response to the AIDS epidemic outstands for its policies and public initiatives, continuously stimulating the challenges for the healthcare of people living with HIV to come out. One of them refers to a polemic issue, yet little debated in the national agenda: the HIV disclosure to sexual partners of HIV positive people. This question claims for the responsibility over HIV transmission control. On the other hand, the patients psychosocial well-being in their sexual-affective, marital and family relationships raises concern. The objective of the present study was to understand, based on the discourses of the subjects involved in this practice, how these distinctive logics the collective perspective based on Public Health concepts and the emphasis on the individual and their singularities are managed in the practices of disclosing HIV infection to sexual partners in STD/AIDS specialized clinics in the city of São Paulo. A qualitative study was carried between 2007-2008 out with health professionals, members of Brazils AIDS Program, surveillance technicians and patients who participated in focus and education groups and answered individual in-depth interviews, both oriented by a semi-structured guide. Public Sphere/ Communicative Action Theory (Habermas) and Comprehensive Care (Ayres) were the theoretical framework of the analysis. HIV disclosure to sexual partners constitutes an issue that, despite relevant, does not reach the public debate domains with the different social actors involved. In practice, the epidemiology logic is neither materialized, nor desired in terms of classic surveillance practices, such as the contact tracing. The contrast of assumptions between public and private spheres seems to be a barrier to HIV disclosure to the sexual partner. The strategies adopted by professionals range from threatening (acting as if they were the police) to complicity (the disclosure is managed as an intimate matter). The main focus of these initiatives is to minimize the stigma towards the seropositive person. From the great variety of interpretations and propositions about stigma in health practices, the constitution of argumentative repertoires that actively question the stigma in concrete situations may be a possible and practical way of facing it. This peculiar way of approaching stigma may change hygienist and law regulated perspectives into normative horizons that are technical, ethical and politically relevant to integrate HIV disclosure to sexual partners and care of people living with HIV.

Introdução: A sífilis em gestantes é um problema de saúde pública, com casos crescentes a cada ano. O tratamento do parceiro sexual da gestante com sífilis, é de suma importância, pois a falta de tratamento deste pode invalidar todas as medidas de controle instituídas durante o cuidado pré-natal. Objetivo: Descrever a ocorrência de tratamento do parceiro sexual e avaliar fatores maternos que favorecem a realização do tratamento do parceiro sexual das gestantes com sífilis gestacional atendidas no Hospital Fêmina (HFE). Método: Estudo transversal descritivo onde foram descritos os casos de pacientes com diagnóstico de sífilis gestacional atendidas no Serviço de Obstetrícia do HFE no período de 01 de janeiro de 2007 a 31 de dezembro de 2014, e seus respectivos parceiros. A coleta de dados foi realizada através dos dados encaminhados pelo Serviço de Controle de Infecção Hospitalar do Hospital Fêmina à Vigilância em Saúde do Município de Porto Alegre em sífilis, em conjunto com os prontuários das pacientes estudadas. O projeto teve aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa do Grupo Hospitalar Conceição com protocolo de número 47914815.2.0000.5530. Resultados: Foram identificados 771 casos de sífilis em gestantes, e desses 570 não tinham informações sobre o tratamento do parceiro sexual da gestante. Dos 201 casos de gestantes com informações sobre o tratamento do parceiro sexual, 25 (12,44%) parceiros foram adequadamente tratados. Na análise univariada comparando gestantes com parceiros tratados para sífilis e não tratados, identificaram-se características associadas à ocorrência de tratamento adequado do parceiro em relação a mulheres que apresentaram sífilis gestacional: a) mais de oito anos de estudo (p=0.022), b) acompanhamento pré-natal adequado (p=0.010) e diagnóstico da sífilis no pré-natal (p=0.003). Conclusão: Escolaridade, diagnóstico precoce de sífilis, e a realização de pré-natal adequado parecem ser fatores determinantes para o adequado tratamento do parceiro e prevenção da transmissão vertical da doença. / Introduction: Syphilis in pregnant women is a public health problem, with increasing cases each year. Treatment of the sexual partner of the pregnant women with syphilis is very important because the lack of treatment may invalidate all control measures imposed during prenatal care. Objective: to describe the occurrence of treatment of the sexual partner and evaluate maternal factors that favor the realization of the treatment of the sexual partner of pregnant women with gestational syphilis treated in Hospital Fêmina. Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, in which were described the cases of patients diagnosed with gestational syphilis in the Obstetrics Department of Hospital Fêmina, and their partners, from January 1st 2007 to December 31st 2014. Data collection was done through the data sent by the Department of Infection Control to Department of Health Surveillance of Porto Alegre in syphilis, along with the records of patients. Ethical principles will be were respected. The project had approval of the ethics committee of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição under protocol number 47914815.2.0000.5530. Results: 771 cases of syphilis in pregnant women were identified. No information on the treatment of the sexual partners was available in 570 of these cases. Among the 201 cases presenting information about the partners treatment, 25 (12.44%) of them were adequately treated. In the univariate analysis comparing women whose partners were treated for syphilis with those untreated demonstrates the associated characteristics as: a) more than eight years of study (p =0.022); b) adequate prenatal care (p= 0.010) and diagnosis of syphilis in prenatal care (p= 0.003). Conclusion: The years of study, the early diagnosis of syphilis and an adequate prenatal care appear to be determining factors for appropriate partner treatment and prevention of the vertical transmission of the disease.

No description available.