Determinants of disclosure of genital herpes to partners

Abstract

Objective: To identify factors which determine whether and when patients will disclose infection with genital herpes to sexual partners. Methods: The sample was 26 women and 24 men attending a herpes clinic in a sexually transmitted disease clinic. Semistructured interviews yielded quantitative data and also qualitative data which were subjected to content analysis. Results: Characteristics of partners were very important in determining whether disclosure occurred. Respondents were less likely to tell partners regarded as casual. Perception of the likely reaction of partners was important in deciding whether to tell. Many respondents assumed that they were not infectious if they were not currently having an attack or if they were taking antiviral medication. The decision whether to tell tended to be based on considerations of likely discovery and of honesty towards the partner rather than control of transmission. Of patient characteristics only self rated depressed mood was related to disclosure to the most recent partner. Conclusions: Perception of the partner and anticipated partner response is crucially important in determining whether and when disclosure of genital herpes infection occurs. G enital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a stigmatised disease associated with a severe psychological disturbance in some patients and with fears of transmission to partners. The issue of telling partners is an important one for many patients and something they often ask for advice on. However, little is known about the determinants or manner of disclosure. METHODS SampleA convenience sample of 24 male and 26 female patients attending a herpes clinic at St Mary's Hospital, London was studied. Median sample age was 34 (range 19-68 years). All patients had had herpes for at least 1 year, 12 less than 5 years, 20 for 5-10 years, and 18 over 10 years. Mean annual reported attack frequency when not taking antiviral drugs was 9.4 (SD 6.2), median attack duration was 7 days. At interview 45 patients were taking antiviral medication and all had had antiviral experience; 57% reported being recurrence free on medication. MethodologyRespondents were given a semistructured interview schedule covering demographics, disease duration, attack frequency, perceived trigger factors, perceived impact on health, and experience with antiviral treatment. They were asked to report on their last three sexual partners since having contracted genital herpes, including the nature of the relationship, whether they had informed them, what had influenced their decision to tell, the reaction of their partners, and what the impact was on the relationship in the longer term. Not all patients had three such partners but all had at least one.Sessions were tape recorded and transcripts entered into the NUDIST program and a content analysis carried out. Emergent categories were identified by the rater from the transcripts, a sample of categorisations was then checked by a second rater and any disagreements resolved.Quantitative data analysis was implem...

Associations between individual and relationship characteristics and genital herpes disclosure

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Disclosure of HIV among black African men and women attending a London HIV clinic

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“…Greene et al , 2003) and regarding disclosure of genital herpes (Green et al , 2003), predicted outcomes were important in determining whether disclosure would occur. The one example in this study where an individual did not disclose to a long-term partner was the result of predictions of an adverse reaction.…”

Disclosure of anogenital warts to sexual partners

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