Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38698401›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2024

A qualitative study exploring approaches, barriers, and facilitators of the HIV partner notification program in Kerman, Iran.

Fatemeh Tavakoli, Mahlagha Dehghan, Ali Akbar Haghdoost, Ali Mirzazadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Gouya, Hamid Sharifi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

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5citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Attitudes toward partner notification ofFrontiers in public health · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

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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

6 authors.

Fatemeh TavakoliHIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Mahlagha DehghanReproductive Health, Family and Population Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. m_dehghan86@yahoo.com.
Ali Akbar HaghdoostHIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Ali MirzazadehHIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Mohammad Mehdi GouyaDepartment of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hamid SharifiHIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. sharifihami@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHIV partner notification services can help people living with HIV (PLHIV) to identify, locate, and inform their sexual and injecting partners who are exposed to HIV and refer them for proper and timely counseling and testing. To what extent these services were used by PLHIV and what are the related barriers and facilitators in southeast Iran are not known. So, this study aimed to explore HIV notification and its barriers and facilitators among PLHIV in Iran.

methodsIn this qualitative study, the number of 23 participants were recruited from November 2022 to February 2023 including PLHIV (N = 12), sexual partners of PLHIV (N = 5), and staff members (N = 6) of a Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) center in Kerman located in the southeast of Iran. Our data collection included purposive sampling to increase variation. The content analysis was conducted using the Graneheim and Lundman approach. The analysis yielded 221 (out of 322) related codes related to HIV notification, its barriers, and its facilitators. These codes were further categorized into one main category with three categories and nine sub-categories.

resultsThe main category was HIV notification approaches, HIV notification barriers, and facilitators. HIV notification approaches were notification through clear, and direct conversation, notification through gradual preparation and reassurance, notification due to being with PLHIV, notification through suspicious talking of the physician, and notification due to the behavior of others. Also, the barriers were classified into individual, social, and environmental, and healthcare system barriers and the facilitators were at PLHIV, healthcare staff, and community levels. Stigma was a barrier mentioned by most participants. Also, the main facilitator of HIV notification was social support, especially from the family side.

conclusionsThe findings highlighted the multidimensionality of HIV notification emphasizing the importance of tailored support and education to enhance the notification process for PLHIV and their networks. Also, our results show that despite all the efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination in recent years, stigma still exists as a main obstacle to disclosing HIV status and other barriers are the product of stigma. It seems that all programs should be directed towards destigmatization.

Indexed as

Contact TracingHIV InfectionsQualitative ResearchAdultCounselingFemaleHumansIranMaleMiddle AgedSexual PartnersSocial StigmaCounselingHIVIranNotificationSexual partners

Identifiers

PMID38698401
PMCPMC11067232

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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.