Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Sex Transm Dis. 2011 Jul;38(7):651-6. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31820cb206.
In randomized controlled trials of expedited partner therapy (EPT), among patients in the EPT arm, the proportion of partners believed to have taken the medication ranged from 56% to 85%. Little is known about the content of successful and unsuccessful EPT negotiations between patients and their partners. The aim of this study was to describe how patients made decisions about EPT and what they did with the EPT medication packs dispensed to them.
We performed a qualitative study at the Baltimore City Health Department sexually transmitted disease clinics, which instituted an EPT pilot program in 2007. In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 patients, 1 week to 3 months after they had accepted EPT to bring to their partners. Taped interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using ATLAS.ti 6 qualitative software. Codes were further combined into more comprehensive themes that were mapped onto the study's main aim.
Participants were innovative about how to get medication to their partners and indicated a deep sense of concern and responsibility for their partners' health. On the other hand, participants reported of being anxious about the interaction and sometimes felt that they lacked the words to talk with their partners about EPT. Some participants used EPT in unexpected ways, such as giving it to people other than their sex partners or taking it themselves.
Enhancing the counseling that accompanies EPT may improve patients' success in delivering it to their partners.
在加速性伴侣治疗（EPT）的随机对照试验中，在 EPT 组的患者中，认为伴侣已服药的比例在 56%至 85%之间。对于患者与其伴侣之间成功和不成功的 EPT 谈判的内容知之甚少。本研究旨在描述患者如何做出 EPT 决策以及他们如何处理分发给他们的 EPT 药物包。
我们在巴尔的摩市卫生局性传播疾病诊所进行了一项定性研究，该诊所于 2007 年启动了 EPT 试点项目。对 31 名患者进行了深入访谈，这些患者在接受 EPT 治疗后 1 周到 3 个月后将药物带给了他们的伴侣。录制的访谈进行了逐字转录，并使用 ATLAS.ti 6 定性软件进行编码。代码进一步合并为更全面的主题，这些主题映射到研究的主要目的上。
参与者在如何将药物交给伴侣方面具有创新性，并表示对伴侣的健康非常关注和负责。另一方面，参与者报告说对互动感到焦虑，有时觉得他们缺乏与伴侣谈论 EPT 的语言。一些参与者以意想不到的方式使用 EPT，例如将其给除性伴侣以外的人或自己服用。
增强 EPT 伴随的咨询可能会提高患者将其传递给伴侣的成功率。
