SynthesisAIDS (London, England)2017
Improving HIV test uptake and case finding with assisted partner notification services.
Synthesis in AIDS (London, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Barriers and facilitators of HIV partner status notification in low- and lower-middle-income countries: A mixed-methods systematic review.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Assessing complex interventions: a systematic review of outcomes used in randomised controlled trials on STI partner notification in high-income countries.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- The proportion of HIV disclosure to sexual partners among people diagnosed with HIV in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Current Status of Safer Conception Strategies for HIV Affected Heterosexual Couples in Sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2018Pooled it
- Prison-based HIV partner notification in Indonesia: rationale and design of a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study.BMC public health · 2026Trial
- Effect of index HIV self-testing for sexual partners of clients enrolled in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in Malawi: A randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2023Trial
- Impart: findings from a prison-based model of HIV assisted partner notification in Indonesia.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Trial
- Addition of HIV self-test kits to partner notification services to increase HIV testing of male partners of pregnant women in Zambia: two parallel randomised trials.The Lancet. Global health · 2021Trial
- A randomized controlled trial evaluating combination detection of HIV in Malawian sexually transmitted infections clinics.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2021Trial
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 Transmission Among Persons With Acute HIV-1 Infection in Malawi: Demographic, Behavioral, and Phylogenetic Relationships.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2019Trial
- Index participant characteristics and HIV assisted partner services efficacy in Kenya: results of a cluster randomized trial.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2019Trial
- Self-reported Intimate Partner Violence Before and After Return of Recency Test Results: Findings from the Rwanda HIV Recency Evaluation Study.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- What Tools Do We Have to End the US HIV Epidemic? A Review of Structural, Biomedical and Implementation Interventions and Their Potential Population Impact.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2026Review
- Leading with HOPE: A Clinical Communication Campaign to Promote Partner HIV Testing in Assisted Partner Notification and Antenatal Care Programs in Uganda.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Mapping evidence on youth experiences and practices on partner notification for sexually transmitted infections in sub-Saharan Africa: scoping review.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2026Review
- Peer perspectives on assisted partner notification for HIV and syphilis testing among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Uganda: a qualitative study.Discover public health · 2026Article
- Improving HIV assisted partner services outcomes by eliciting additional partners after the initial encounter.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Human immunodeficiency virus recency testing coverage and partner-notification-services among people-living with human immunodeficiency virus in low- and middle-income countries.World journal of virology · 2025Article
- Partner Tracing Survey and Phylogenetic Analysis Among Newly Diagnosed HIV-Positive MSM - Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China, 2019-2022.China CDC weekly · 2025Article
- Index case testing uptake and determinants among HIV clients attending Shashemene town public health facilities, Southern Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveDespite the enormous expansion of HIV testing services (HTS), an estimated 40% of people with HIV infection remain undiagnosed. To enhance the efficiency of HTS, new approaches are needed. The WHO conducted a systematic review on the effectiveness of assisted partner notification in improving HIV test uptake and diagnosis, and the occurrence of adverse events, to inform the development of normative guidelines.
methodsWe systematically searched five electronic databases through June 2016. We also contacted experts in the field and study authors for additional information where needed. Eligible studies compared assisted HIV partner notification services to passive or no notification. Where multiple studies reported comparable outcomes, meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model to produce relative risks (RRs) or risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsOf 1742 citations identified, four randomized controlled trials and six observational studies totalling 5150 index patients from eight countries were included. Meta-analysis of three individually randomized trials showed that assisted partner notification services resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in HTS uptake among partners compared with passive referral (RR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.22-1.75; I = 0%). The proportion of HIV-positive partners was 1.5 times higher with assisted partner notification than with passive referral (RR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.12-1.92; I = 0%). Few instances of violence or harm occurred.
conclusionAssisted partner notification improved partner testing and diagnosis of HIV-positive partners, with few reports of harm. WHO strongly recommends voluntary assisted HIV partner notification services to be offered as part of a comprehensive package of testing and care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.