Perceived Facilitators And Barriers Regarding Partner Notification In People Living With Hiv In Hunan, China: A Qualitative Study From The Patient Perspective

Consensus has been reached about the important role of partner notification (PN) for HIV prevention and control programs. We used a qualitative study to explore facilitators of and barriers to PN to understand reasons for disclosure and nondisclosure by people living with HIV in China. Our main goal was to identify information related to PN that may be unique to the Chinese cultural context. Of 41 participants who were interviewed, 33 had disclosed their HIV status to sexual partners. Facilitators for PN included preserving the integrity of the partnership, social support, and potential benefits of notification; barriers included perceived discrimination/stigma, possible negative consequences, and safety concerns. Participant physical health conditions, strength of the relationship, and concordant identification were found to be conditional factors of PN. Our findings provide information for a better understanding of PN in Chinese culture and offer a reference for developing more specific strategies to facilitate PN.