Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32482641›Full record

Trial reportSexually transmitted infections2021

Effects of enhanced STI partner notification counselling and provider-assisted partner services on partner referral and the incidence of STI diagnosis in Cape Town, South Africa: randomised controlled trial.

Catherine Mathews, Carl Lombard, Moira Kalichman, Sarah Dewing, Ellen Banas, Sekelwa Dumile, Amanda Mdlikiva, Thembinkosi Mdlikiva, Karen Ann Jennings, Johann Daniels and 2 more

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Sexually transmitted infections, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2023
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Catherine MathewsHealth Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa cathy.mathews@mrc.ac.za.ORCID 0000-0001-5368-1127
Carl LombardBiostatistics Unit, South Africa Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Moira KalichmanInstitute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
Sarah DewingHealth Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Ellen BanasHealth Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Sekelwa DumileHealth Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Amanda MdlikivaHealth Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Thembinkosi MdlikivaHealth Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, South Africa.
Karen Ann JenningsCity Health Department of Cape Town Municipality, Cape Town, South Africa.
Johann DanielsCity Health Department of Cape Town Municipality, Cape Town, South Africa.
Marcel BertelerCity of Cape Town IS&T Department, City of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
Seth C KalichmanInstitute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
South African Medical Research Council · ZACity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of Connecticut · US

Funding

Enhanced STI/HIV Partner Notification in South AfricaR01HD074560 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · PI KALICHMAN, SETH C · 2013 to 2017
$2.8M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD074560
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe investigated the effects of an enhanced partner notification (PN) counselling intervention with the offer of provider-assisted referral among people diagnosed with STI in a Cape Town public clinic.

methodsParticipants were adults diagnosed with STI at a community clinic. After the standard STI consultation, participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio to (1) 'HE': 20 min health education; (2) 'RR': 45 min risk reduction skills counselling; or (3) 'ePN': 45 min enhanced partner notification communication skills counselling and the offer of provider-assisted referral. The primary outcome was the incidence of repeat STI diagnoses during the 12 months after recruitment, and the secondary outcome was participants' reports 2 weeks after diagnosis of notifying recent partners. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were used to compare the incidence rates between arms using a Poisson regression model.

resultsThe sample included 1050 participants, 350 per group, diagnosed with STI between June 2014 and August 2017. We reviewed 1048 (99%) participant records, and identified 136 repeat STI diagnoses in the ePN arm, 138 in the RR arm and 141 in the HE arm. There was no difference in the annual incidence of STI diagnosis between the ePN and HE arms (IRR: 1.0; 95% CI 0.7 to 1.3), or between the RR and HE arms (IRR: 0.9; 95% CI 0.7 to 1.2). There was a greater chance of a partner being notified in the ePN condition compared with the HE condition, 64.3% compared with 53.8%, but no difference between the RR and HE arms.

conclusionsPN counselling and education with provider-assisted services has the potential to change the behaviour of people diagnosed with STIs, increasing the number of partners they notify by more than 10%. However, these changes in behaviour did not lead to a reduction of repeat STI diagnoses. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PACTR201606001682364.

Indexed as

CounselingDisease NotificationHealth EducationReferral and ConsultationSexual PartnersAdultFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleSexually Transmitted DiseasesSouth Africacontact tracingpartner notificationsexual behavioursexual networks

Identifiers

PMID32482641
PMCPMC7841487
OpenAlexW3030219869

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.