261142 PartnerCare: Results and Reflections from a Multi-year Effort to Support Expedited Partner Therapy

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 10:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Richard Goldsworthy, MSEd, PhD , Academic Edge, Inc., Bloomington, IN
J. Dennis Fortenberry, MD, MS , Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Matthew Hogben, PhD , CDC and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
     
OBJECTIVE EPT is a CDC-recommended healthcare strategy, with demonstrated efficacy. With EPT, patients diagnosed with bacteriological STI deliver extra prescription medication to sexual partners. When initially recommended by the CDC, very little research and few materials were available to understand and support implementation. We sought to close these gaps.

METHODS A five-year research effort was conducted to understand EPT uptake and to create resources that enhance provider and patient participation. The effort followed an iterative, multistage, user-centered approach grounded extensively in mixed methods descriptive research, expert input, psychosocial models of EPT behaviors, and formative evaluation.

RESULTS The research effort led to multiple models of patient EPT adoption, including identifying factors that influence uptake. Patient and provider resources were created, including developing a ‘brand identity' for EPT, Partner Care, and designing and evaluating paper, web, animated, and video support tools. Finally, implementation assistance, including resource localization, has been provided to jurisdictions throughout the U.S.

DISCUSSION Looking across this multi-year effort, many successes, challenges, and opportunities remain: much more is known about EPT uptake and implementation, and EPT is permissible in many more jurisdictions and being implemented at an increasing rate. Significant, freely available, through partnercare.org, EPT implementation resources now exist and can be tailored to individual implementation settings. But, EPT implementation remains the exception rather than the rule and often varies by state and local setting. The presentation will reflect on the overall effort, its results and developed resources, and remaining opportunities and challenges.

Funded in part by CDC/NCHHSTP#200-2008-28140.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to: 1. Describe EPT, PDPT, and PartnerCare, their relevance to public health and primary care, and identify common adoption and implementation issues. 2. Discuss the process and results of this 5 year research effort, from foundational descriptive research to development and evaluation of program resources, to site and jurisdiction adaptation of the resources. 3. Describe several challenges and opportunities that remain regarding implementation EPT 4. Assess the utility of, and gain access to, the results and resulting resources for their own implementation or research efforts.

Keywords: STD, Health Care Delivery

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I serve as the principle investigator for this multi-year, CDC-funded effort and have 15+ years experience as a researcher in public health, education, and instructional design including large scale efforts targeting STD prevention and treatment, suicide prevention, conflict resolution, and drug and substance use and abuse.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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