Perceived Risk of Intimate Partner Violence Among STI Clinic Patients: Implications for Partner Notification and Patient-Delivered Partner Therapy. Arch Sex Behav 2018 Feb;47(2):481-492
Date
11/02/2017Pubmed ID
29090392Pubmed Central ID
PMC5775910DOI
10.1007/s10508-017-1051-0Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85032693024 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 14 CitationsAbstract
Patient-delivered partner therapy (PDPT) is the practice of providing patients diagnosed with a bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) medication to give directly to their partner for treatment without requiring the partner to participate in diagnostic testing and counseling. Despite a growing body of evidence in support of PDPT, literature is limited to date on the influence of perceived risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) on PDPT use. We analyzed mixed-method data from 196 quantitative surveys (61% male, M age = 31.2, 92% Black or African-American) and 25 qualitative interviews to better understand the barriers and facilitators associated with PDPT delivery for patients attending a Midwestern, publicly funded STI clinic in the U.S. Nearly a third of surveyed patients (29; 34% of women, 26% of men) expressed worry about IPV when delivering PDPT. Patients had concerns about infidelity worry, embarrassment, and anxiety (referred to as IWEA hereafter) associated with partner notification and PDPT delivery. We found IWEA was highly correlated with IPV concerns in a fully adjusted logistic regression model. Women had 2.43 (95% CI = 1.09-5.42) times greater odds of worrying about IPV than men; other significant factors associated with IPV worry included higher condom use, no prior STI diagnosis, and being uninsured (as compared to having Medicare/Medicaid insurance). Encouraging communication between healthcare providers and their patients about the potential for IPV could facilitate patient triaging that results in the consideration of alternative partner referral mechanisms for patients or partners at risk of harm and better outcomes for patients and their partners.
Author List
John SA, Walsh JL, Cho YI, Weinhardt LSAuthors
Steven A. John PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinJennifer L. Walsh PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Lance S. Weinhardt MS,PhD Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Community and Behavioral Health Promotion in the Joseph. J. Zilber School of Public Health department at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultCounseling
Female
Humans
Intimate Partner Violence
Male
Risk
Sexual Partners
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
