A survey of partner notification practices among general practitioners and their use of an internet resource for partner notification for Chlamydia trachomatis

Abstract

Objectives: To determine in which circumstances Victorian general practitioners (GPs) offer chlamydia testing to patients, the attitudes of GPs in relation to contact tracing, how often GPs use a pre-printed partner letter and patient brochure and what proportion of GPs have immediate internet access in their consulting rooms. Methods: This study involved two parts, an initial survey of a sample of GPs in Victoria and a study of GP use of a website that provided treatment guidelines, a printable client brochure and a partner letter. Results: Of 418 eligible GPs, 221 (53%, 48–58%, 95% CI) returned completed surveys. Of these, 213 (97%, 93–99%, 95% CI) GPs believed that patients were largely responsible for notifying partners. Partner letters were rarely used: 167 (76%, 70–81%, 95% CI) GPs reported they never used partner letters, 18 (8%, 5–13%, 95% CI) GPs reported rare use and 23 (10%, 7–15%, 95% CI) GPs reportedusing them sometimes. Of the GPs, 181 (82%, 77–87%, 95% CI) reported they would find a partner letter and patient brochure on a website helpful. During the study, the website was accessed by 28 GPs (25%, 17–34%, 95% CI) in Gippsland and 17 GPs (8%, 5–13%, 95% CI) in Geelong who received positive chlamydia results on 110 and 208 clients respectively. Conclusions: GPs mostly considered patients responsible for partner notification but uncommonly used partner letters or an information brochure to assist them. Importantly, GPs reported that they could improve partner notification if further support was provided. In addition, when a website was provided with useful documents on it, up to 25% of GPs used it. This indicates that simple and inexpensive interventions can support GPs with strategies that may improve the control of chlamydia.