Tavakoli Fatemeh, Dehghan Mahlagha, Haghdoost Ali Akbar, Mirzazadeh Ali, Gouya Mohammad Mahdi, Farhoudi Behnam, Khezri Mehrdad, Sharifi Hamid
HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center, and WHO Collaborating Center for HIV Surveillance, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Nursing Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
AIDS Behav. 2025 Jan;29(1):317-330. doi: 10.1007/s10461-024-04523-8. Epub 2024 Oct 8.
HIV partner notification is a key intervention to facilitate access to HIV testing and treatment. This qualitative study investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the HIV partner notification program in Iran. Additionally, it provides comprehensive recommendations to mitigate potential harms and maximize the benefits of partner notification services. Using purposive sampling, 15 participants, including policymakers, service providers, and researchers in the field of HIV, were recruited from nine provinces between September and December 2023. The qualitative content analysis was conducted using the Graneheim and Lundman approach. Several strengths were reported for the HIV partner notification program, including alignment with international guidelines, use of trained counselors, integration with current HIV testing guidelines being used by HIV testing centers funded by the Ministry of Health, and a well-developed monitoring and evaluation plan at the facility, provincial, and national levels. Notable weaknesses of the program included a lack of a detailed implementation plan overall and for some key populations at high risk for HIV, such as female sex workers, lack of integration of the program with HIV testing services provided in hospitals and HIV centers funded by the Welfare Organization in Iran, lack of a simple quality checklist for monitoring and evaluation of the program. To increase the coverage and quality of the HIV partner notification program in Iran, a more detailed implementation plan, a simple quality checklist, and more targeted advocacy and training programs are needed.
艾滋病毒伴侣通知是一项关键干预措施，有助于促进艾滋病毒检测和治疗的可及性。这项定性研究调查了伊朗艾滋病毒伴侣通知项目的优势与不足。此外，它还提供了全面的建议，以减轻潜在危害并最大限度地提高伴侣通知服务的益处。采用目的抽样法，于2023年9月至12月期间从九个省份招募了15名参与者，包括政策制定者、服务提供者和艾滋病毒领域的研究人员。使用格兰内海姆和伦德曼方法进行定性内容分析。报告了艾滋病毒伴侣通知项目的几个优势，包括与国际准则一致、使用经过培训的咨询员、与卫生部资助的艾滋病毒检测中心目前使用的艾滋病毒检测准则相结合，以及在机构、省级和国家层面制定了完善的监测和评价计划。该项目的显著不足包括总体上缺乏详细的实施方案，以及针对一些艾滋病毒高风险关键人群（如女性性工作者）缺乏实施方案，该项目与伊朗福利组织资助的医院和艾滋病毒中心提供的艾滋病毒检测服务缺乏整合，缺乏用于监测和评价该项目的简单质量清单。为了提高伊朗艾滋病毒伴侣通知项目的覆盖范围和质量，需要一个更详细的实施方案、一个简单的质量清单，以及更有针对性的宣传和培训项目。
