Introduction. At the request of a working group formed to recommend policy with respect to partner notification (PN) for HIV infection in Quebec, we examined practice and attitudes of seropositive patients and physicians. / Methods. We reviewed published studies on PN for HIV and conducted interviews with seropositive patients as well as focus groups and a telephone survey with a sample of clinicians treating HIV infection. / Results. Among previously undiagnosed partners notified through PN programs, seroprevalence ranged from 11% to 32%, with costs varying from 800$ to 3200 $ per new HIV diagnosis. In our study, most current partners had been contacted (interviews: 14/15 (93%); survey: 29/30 (97%)), but not previous partners (interviews: 6/39 (15%); survey: 29/200 (14%)). Many patients wanted more of their partners to be informed, but preferred to remain anonymous to these partners. Most clinicians were favorable to PN but felt they needed a clearer mandate and additional resources to do active notification beyond encouraging index patients to notify their partners. / Discussion. In Quebec, PN is carried out unsystematically and is usually limited to the index patient notifying his or her current partner. Most patients and physicians would be willing to collaborate with a more systematic PN program if it were voluntary and confidential.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.68168 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Deck, Wilber |
| Contributors | Remis, Robert (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001397706, proquestno: AAIMM94426, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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