Khan Adnan Ahmad, Khan Ayesha
Research and Development Solutions, Islamabad, Ministry of Health, Islamabad, Pakistan.
J Pak Med Assoc. 2012 Sep;62(9):941-5.
To explore the healthcare providers' perspectives in the management of sexually transmitted infections.
The mixed-method qualitative study done in 2008 involved 51 general practitioners and specialists who are known among peers for managing sexually transmitted infections. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured instruments and recruitment was kept open within each provider type until specific themes were saturated. Providers were interviewed from 5 cities in Pakistan.
Each type of provider was usually found dealing with a specific population sub-group. Nearly all providers were practising personal empiricism, rarely following any standardised guidelines. Testing for asymptomatic infections such as human immunodeficiency virus, syphilis or anal infections was rare as was counselling or partner management.
Encounters with patients suffering from sexually transmitted infections seem to be missed opportunities to control community based transmission of such infections. Implementation research is needed to better understand how to induce healthcare providers to better manage these infections, test for asymptomatic infections and advise partner management.
探讨医疗服务提供者在性传播感染管理方面的观点。
2008年开展的这项混合方法定性研究涉及51名全科医生和专科医生，他们在同行中以管理性传播感染而闻名。使用半结构化工具进行访谈，在每种医疗服务提供者类型中持续招募，直到特定主题饱和。从巴基斯坦的5个城市选取医疗服务提供者进行访谈。
通常发现每种类型的医疗服务提供者都在处理特定的人群亚组。几乎所有医疗服务提供者都在实践个人经验主义，很少遵循任何标准化指南。对无症状感染如人类免疫缺陷病毒、梅毒或肛门感染进行检测的情况很少，咨询或性伴管理也是如此。
与性传播感染患者的接触似乎是控制此类感染在社区传播的错失机会。需要开展实施研究，以更好地了解如何促使医疗服务提供者更好地管理这些感染、检测无症状感染并建议进行性伴管理。
