Partner Notification of STIs in Six African Countries

Sara Zellner, University of Texas at Austin

In Africa, partner discussion and prevention concerning sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and AIDS has been pushed to the forefront of research in efforts to understand and limit the spread of HIV. To explore partner notification of STIs, pooled Demographic and Health Survey data are used from six African countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Topics addressed are to what extent does notification vary by country or by region of Africa, and what predictors increase the likelihood of an individual discussing these issues. Results show that gender plays the most significant role in determining whether or not a partner is informed of infection, with men showing a greater likelihood of conveying their infection status.