ArticleSexually transmitted infections2022
Going beyond 'regular and casual': development of a classification of sexual partner types to enhance partner notification for STIs.
Article in Sexually transmitted infections, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Optimising partner notification outcomes for bacterial sexually transmitted infections: a deliberative process and consensus, United Kingdom, 2019.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2022Pooled it
- Scabies among Dutch higher education students: do cases notify their contacts and do contacts take adequate measures?Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Assisted partner notification as a strategy to enhance Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) screening and uptake - results from a prospective cohort study in Lilongwe, Malawi.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Use of a five-category partner-type classification within a chlamydia and gonorrhoea service evaluation highlights opportunities for targeted partner notification to improve STI control.Sexually transmitted infections · 2025Article
- Sampling Strategies for Assessing Male Clients of Female Sex Workers in Public Health Research: A Compilation of Global Evidence.AIDS and behavior · 2025Review
- Spectrum of sexual partner types among adults screened for sexually transmitted infections in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.PloS one · 2025Article
- Digital interventions for STI and HIV partner notification: a scoping review.Sexually transmitted infections · 2024Article
- Epidemiology of Early Monkeypox Virus Transmission in Sexual Networks of Gay and Bisexual Men, England, 2022.Emerging infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 12 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo develop a classification of sexual partner types for use in partner notification (PN) for STIs.
methodsA four-step process: (1) an iterative synthesis of five sources of evidence: scoping review of social and health sciences literature on partner types; analysis of relationship types in dating apps; systematic review of PN intervention content; and review of PN guidelines; qualitative interviews with public, patients and health professionals to generate an initial comprehensive classification; (2) multidisciplinary clinical expert consultation to revise the classification; (3) piloting of the revised classification in sexual health clinics during a randomised controlled trial of PN; (4) application of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify index patients' willingness to engage in PN for each partner type.
resultsFive main partner types emerged from the evidence synthesis and consultation: 'established partner', 'new partner', 'occasional partner', 'one-off partner' and 'sex worker'. The types differed across several dimensions, including likely perceptions of sexual exclusivity, likelihood of sex reoccurring between index patient and sex partner. Sexual health professionals found the classification easy to operationalise. During the trial, they assigned all 3288 partners described by 2223 index patients to a category. The TDF analysis suggested that the partner types might be associated with different risks of STI reinfection, onward transmission and index patients' engagement with PN.
conclusionsWe developed an evidence-informed, useable classification of five sexual partner types to underpin PN practice and other STI prevention interventions. Analysis of biomedical, psychological and social factors that distinguish different partner types shows how each could warrant a tailored PN approach. This classification could facilitate the use of partner-centred outcomes. Additional studies are needed to determine the utility of the classification to improve measurement of the impact of PN strategies and help focus resources.
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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.