***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Health departments inconsistently provide partner notification services to persons with HIV . We surveyed a r and omly selected sample of 370 patients at the largest HIV clinic in Washington State , USA , using a self-administered anonymous question naire . Patients who reported talking to health department staff about partner notification were more likely to report notifying at least one sex partner following their HIV diagnosis than patients who did not talk to health department staff ( 68 vs. 45 % , odds ratio = 2.5 , 95 % confidence interval = 1.6–3.9 ) Partner  notification ( PN )  is an important method for controlling the AIDS epidemic worldwide . Here , we looked into the differences between two PN counseling modes for HIV ( + ) men who have sex with men in Taiwan . Using r and om assignment , we placed 42 of the 84 subjects into the experimental group where they received two sessions of PN counseling , while the control group ( 42 ) received only one session .  All 84 subjects were single males with an average age of 28.06 .  The mean number of successful notified partner was 5.38 ( SD = 3.44 ) in the experimental which was statistically significantly higher than 2.81 ( SD = 1.62 ) in the control group ( β = 0.650 , p = 0.000 ) . The notification success rate was 77.13 % in the experimental and 74.21 % in the control group ( IRR 1.039 , 95 % CI 0.83–1.30 ) . In the experimental and control group , the average number of the partners accepted an HIV test was 1.86 ( SD = 1.58 ) and 0.79 ( SD = 0.66 ) ( β = 0.601 , p = 0.000 ) , and 39.74 and 27.27 % of the tested partners were HIV positive ( IRR 1.457 , 95 % CI 0.69–3.06 ) . The study results may be used to improve the policies and practice s for PN and contact follow-up Background Partner services ( PSs ) are a long-st and ing component of HIV control programs in the United States and some parts of Europe . Small r and omized trials suggest that HIV PS can be effective in identifying persons with undiagnosed HIV infection . However , the scalability and effectiveness of HIV PS in low-income countries are unknown . Methods We used data collected from 2009 to 2010 through a large HIV PS program in Cameroon to evaluate HIV PS in a developing country . HIV-positive index cases diagnosed in antenatal care , voluntary counseling and testing , and inpatient facilities were interviewed to collect information on their sexual partners . Partners were contacted via telephone or home visit to notify , test , and enroll those found to be HIV positive in medical care . Results Health advisors interviewed 1462 persons with HIV infection during the evaluation period ; these persons provided information about 1607 sexual partners . Health advisors notified 1347 ( 83.8 % ) of these partners , of whom 900 ( 66.8 % ) were HIV tested . Of partners tested , 451 ( 50.1 % ) were HIV positive , of whom 386 ( 85.6 % ) enrolled into HIV medical care . An average 3.2 index cases needed to be interviewed to identify 1 HIV case . Conclusions HIV PS can be successfully implemented in a developing country and is highly effective in identifying persons with HIV infection  and linking them to care BACKGROUND We sought to compare two methods of notifying sex partners of subjects infected with the human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) or persons who had shared needles with them ( needle-sharing partners )  : " patient referral , " in which the responsibility for notifying partners was left to the patient , and " provider referral , " in which providers attempted to notify partners . METHODS Names of sex partners and needle-sharing partners and information on how to locate them were obtained from consenting HIV-infected subjects identified in the HIV-testing programs at three public health departments in North Carolina . The subjects were r and omly assigned to a patient-referral group ( in which patients had the initial responsibility for notifying their partners ) or a provider-referral group ( in which the study counselor notified the partners ) . The success of attempts to notify partners was monitored by means of interviews with counselors conducted both in the field and at the health department . RESULTS Of 534 HIV-positive persons identified at the health departments , 247 ( 46 percent ) did not return for counseling after the test , 8 were counseled outside the study , and 117 ( 22 percent ) were ineligible . Of the 162 invited to participate , 88 ( 54 percent ) declined and 74 ( 46 percent ) agreed . The subjects were mostly male ( 69 percent ) , black ( 87 percent ) , homosexual or bisexual ( 76 percent of the men ) , and had a median age of 30 years . Thirty-nine were assigned to the provider-referral group and 35 to the patient-referral group . In the provider-referral group 78 of 157 partners ( 50 percent ) were successfully notified , whereas in the patient-referral group only 10 of 153 ( 7 percent ) were notified . Of the partners notified by the counselors , 94 percent were not aware that they had been exposed to HIV . Overall , 23 percent of the partners notified and tested were HIV-positive . CONCLUSIONS In this trial , leaving the notification of partners up to the subjects ( patient referral ) was quite ineffective , despite the North Carolina law requiring that partners be notified . Partner notification by public health counselors ( provider referral ) was significantly more effective . Although the effectiveness of notification procedures is constrained by the accuracy of the information provided by HIV-infected patients , counselors who notify the partners of an infected patient can refer them to educational , medical , and support services targeted to persons at high risk for HIV infection and may encourage the adoption of less risky behavior BACKGROUND Assisted partner services for index patients with HIV infections involves elicitation of information about sex partners and contacting them to ensure that they test for HIV and link to care . Assisted partner services are not widely available in Africa . We aim ed to establish whether or not assisted partner services increase HIV testing , diagnoses , and linkage to care among sex partners of people with HIV infections in Kenya . METHODS In this cluster r and omised controlled trial , we recruited non-pregnant adults aged at least 18 years with newly or recently diagnosed HIV without a recent history of intimate partner violence who had not yet or had only recently linked to HIV care from 18 HIV testing services clinics in Kenya . Consenting sites in Kenya were r and omly assigned ( 1:1 ) by the study statistician ( restricted r and omisation ; balanced distribution in terms of county and proximity to a city ) to immediate versus delayed assisted partner services . Primary outcomes were the number of partners tested for HIV , the number who tested HIV positive , and the number enrolled in HIV care , in those who were interviewed at 6 week follow-up . Participants within each cluster were masked to treatment allocation because participants within each cluster received the same intervention . This trial is registered with Clinical Trials.gov , number NCT01616420 . FINDINGS Between Aug 12 , 2013 , and Aug 31 , 2015 , we r and omly allocated 18 clusters to immediate and delayed HIV assisted partner services ( nine in each group ) , enrolling 1305 participants : 625 ( 48 % ) in the immediate group and 680 ( 52 % ) in the delayed group . 6 weeks after enrolment of index patients , 392 ( 67 % ) of 586 partners had tested for HIV in the immediate group and 85 ( 13 % ) of 680 had tested in the delayed group ( incidence rate ratio 4·8 , 95 % CI 3·7 - 6·4 ) . 136 ( 23 % ) partners had new HIV diagnoses in the immediate group compared with 28 ( 4 % ) in the delayed group ( 5·0 , 3·2 - 7·9 ) and 88 ( 15 % ) versus 19 ( 3 % ) were newly enrolled in care ( 4·4 , 2·6 - 7·4 ) . Assisted partner services did not increase intimate partner violence ( one intimate partner violence event related to partner notification or study procedures occurred in each group ) . INTERPRETATION Assisted partner services are safe and increase HIV testing and case-finding ; implementation at the population level could enhance linkage to care and antiretroviral therapy initiation and substantially decrease HIV transmission . FUNDING National Institutes of Health Background : Sexual partners of persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection require HIV counseling , testing and , if necessary , evaluation for therapy . However , many African countries do not have a st and ardized protocol for partner notification , and the effectiveness of partner notification has not been evaluated in developing countries . Methods : Individuals with newly diagnosed HIV infection presenting to sexually transmitted infection clinics in Lilongwe , Malawi , were r and omized to 1 of 3 methods of partner notification : passive referral , contract referral , or provider referral . The passive referral group was responsible for notifying their partners themselves . The contract referral group was given seven days to notify their partners , after which a health care provider contacted partners who had not reported for counseling and testing . In the provider referral group , a health care provider notified partners directly . Results : Two hundred forty-five index patients named 302 sexual partners and provided locator information for 252 . Among locatable partners , 107 returned for HIV counseling and testing ; 20 of 82 [ 24 % ; 95 % confidence interval ( CI ) : 15 % to 34 % ] partners returned in the passive referral arm , 45 of 88 ( 51 % ; 95 % CI : 41 % to 62 % ) in the contract referral arm , and 42 of 82 ( 51 % ; 95 % CI : 40 % to 62 % ) in the provider referral arm ( P < 0.001 ) . Among returning partners ( n = 107 ) , 67 ( 64 % ) of were HIV infected with 54 ( 81 % ) newly diagnosed . Discussion : This study provides the first evidence of the effectiveness of partner notification in sub-Saharan Africa . Active partner notification was feasible , acceptable , and effective among sexually transmitted infections clinic patients . Partner notification will increase early referral to care and facilitate risk reduction among high-risk uninfected partners BACKGROUND Couples HIV testing and counselling ( CHTC ) is encouraged but is not widely done in sub-Saharan Africa . We aim ed to compare two strategies for recruiting male partners for CHTC in Malawi 's option B+ prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme :  invitation only versus invitation plus tracing and postulated that invitation plus tracing would be more effective . METHODS We did an unblinded , r and omised , controlled trial assessing uptake of CHTC in the antenatal unit at Bwaila District Hospital , a maternity hospital in Lilongwe , Malawi . Women were eligible if they were pregnant , had just tested HIV-positive and therefore could initiate antiretroviral therapy , had not yet had CHTC , were older than 18 years or 16 - 17 years and married , reported a male sex partner in Lilongwe , and intended to remain in Lilongwe for at least 1 month . Women were r and omly assigned ( 1:1 ) to either the invitation only group or the invitation plus tracing group with block r and omisation ( block size=4 ) . In the invitation only group , women were provided with an invitation for male partners to present to the antenatal clinic . In the invitation plus tracing group , women were provided with the same invitation , and partners were traced if they did not present . When couples presented they were offered pregnancy information and CHTC . Women were asked to attend a follow-up visit 1 month after enrolment to assess social harms and sexual behaviour . The primary outcome was the proportion of couples who presented to the clinic together and received CHTC during the study period and was assessed in all r and omly assigned participants . This study is registered with Clinical Trials.gov , number NCT02139176 . FINDINGS Between March 4 , 2014 , and Oct 3 , 2014 , 200 HIV-positive pregnant women were enrolled and r and omly assigned to either the invitation only group ( n=100 ) or the invitation plus tracing group ( n=100 ) . 74 couples in the invitation plus tracing group and 52 in the invitation only group presented to the clinic and had CHTC ( risk difference 22 % , 95 % CI 9 - 35 ; p=0.001 ) during the 10 month study period . Of 181 women with follow-up data , two reported union dissolution , one reported emotional distress , and none reported intimate partner violence . One male partner , when traced , was confused about which of his sex partners was enrolled in the study . No other adverse events were reported . INTERPRETATION An invitation plus tracing strategy was highly effective at increasing CHTC uptake . Invitation plus tracing with CHTC could have many substantial benefits if brought to scale . FUNDING National Institutes of Health Background : Men who have sex with men ( MSM ) with bacterial sexually transmitted diseases ( STDs ) are at elevated risk of HIV . We evaluated the integration of pre-exposure prophylaxis ( PrEP ) referrals into STD partner services ( PS ) for MSM . Setting : King County , Washington . Methods : Disease Intervention Specialists ( DIS ) in King County attempt to provide PS to all MSM with early syphilis and , as re sources allow , MSM with gonorr 
    Output:
    
Adverse events ( i.e. , partnership dissolution , intimate partner violence ) were not significantly associated with receipt of APS and were rare .