Partner notification about HIV positive status and gender relations: experiences of HIV positive sexual partners in Kampala Central Division

Abstract

Partner Notification (PN) remains one of the effective tools to reach partners who are undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV status. This study examined the gendered PN experiences of HIV positive women and men in Kampala Central Division. It sought to examine the most preferred partner notification method, the gender perceptions of HIV positive sexual partners towards partner notification, and the influence of partner notification on gender relations among the notified partners. Guided by the care focused feminist theory, the study viewed PN as a strategy that HIV positives could use to meet their needs and of others by notifying them; so that they both could seek early treatment and change behaviour for protection against or prevention of HIV. I used a mixed methods approach with a cross sectional design. The study targeted HIV positive females and males who had gone through PN from Kisenyi Health Centre IV. Stratified and systematic random sampling were employed to select a total of 136 HIV positive respondents with 50% representation females who participated in structured interviews using a questionnaire. In addition, a total of 32 married and unmarried HIV positive female and male were purposively selected and participated in the focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitative data and a computer assisted software, Nvivo for the qualitative data. The findings showed gender differences on the most preferred PN. While majority of the men preferred -self notification-, majority of the women preferred assisted notification. Both men and women agreed that it was good for one to be notified of their partners HIV status. Partner notification influences gender relations positively in terms of counselling and adherence support on one hand. On the other hand, partner notification negatively influences gender relations in terms of decision making, loss of marriages and IPV. In conclusion, partner notification about HIV positive status influences gender relations. Health service providers are recommended to provide counselling by encouraging HIV positive clients to jointly make decisions and continue communicating with each other.