Partner notification: preferences of Melbourne clients and the estimated proportion of sexual partners they can contact

This study was conducted to determine the estimated proportion of contactable sexual partners, the most common types of contact information available and the most acceptable contact tracing strategies for our clients. Five hundred 'walk in' clients completed a questionnaire about their total number of sexual partners, the proportion of contactable partners and available contact information. Women had the highest estimated number of contactable partners (89-94%), men who have sex with men had the lowest (51-73%). The preferred contact tracing strategy was to give partners a website address (76%) and the least preferred was provider referral (33%). There was a difference in the type of information available for contacting sexual partners (P<0.001); most commonly clients reported partners contactable by phone or face to face and least commonly through a third person. The currently used method (doctor's letter) is not the preferred choice of these clients and more innovative methods using recent technology may prove more effective.