Conditional referral
This strategy is used when the index person agrees to contact their partners in the first instance but that they may also need to pass the task onto the healthcare provider after an agreed period if they have been unsuccessful.
Guidelines
Partner Notification Officers and Contact Tracers: who are they and what qualifications do they have?
Healthcare providers who undertake partner notification on a regular basis are often sexual health professionals who work in this specialty area. In Australia most of these are registered nurses who have the capacity to offer testing in the community when undertaking partner notification, which can be extremely beneficial particularly for those partners who may have …
Conclusion
Partner notification is an important part of the public health management of HIV and nurses, and Aboriginal health workers often play a key role. Partner notification should be raised with all people who are newly diagnosed with HIV. The aim is to reduce transmission and to prevent unwanted sequelae in those who are found to …
References
Australasian Society for HIV Medicine. Australasian Contact Tracing Guidelines (updated) October 2022. Cowan FM, French R, Johnson AM. The role and effectiveness of partner notification in STD control: a review. Genitourinary Medicine 1996; 72: 247-252. Tomnay JE. Partner Notification and Confidentiality. In: Russell D, Bradford DL, Fairley CK, editors. Sexual Health Medicine, 2005. Tomnay J, …
Late presentation of new HIV diagnosis
Elizabeth Crock: HIV Nurse Practitioner, Bolton Clarke HIV Program, Melbourne Acknowledgement: Jayne Howard: Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Melbourne (first edition) Summary Introduction and definitions The importance of early diagnosis and linkage to care Barriers to testing and risk factors for late HIV diagnoses. Nursing implications – severe disease Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome Introduction and definitions …
Barriers to testing and reasons for late diagnoses
In Australia, people who have engaged in an identifiable risk behaviour comprise the majority of those diagnosed with HIV, such as men who have sex with men (MSM). However, as noted above, significant numbers of infections are diagnosed in women, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and people in older age groups (13, …
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Nursing implications of late diagnosis – severe disease, treatment and prevention of opportunistic illnesses
Where people have been diagnosed late with HIV infection, skilled nursing is essential to their ability to follow through with treatments and remain engaged with the health system. The OIs (also referred to as AIDS-defining illnesses or AIDS-indicator diseases) with which those diagnosed late and with advanced disease may present are now relatively rare, due …
Late presenters and the risk of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
Effective ART stimulates immune reconstitution, reducing the risk of opportunistic illnesses. However, some people commencing ART experience a phenomenon referred to as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) that can be life-threatening (24). IRIS affecting the central nervous system (CNS) has a high mortality. Most people who develop IRIS will do so within 90 days of …
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References
O’Connor SJ, Manship S. Understanding factors behind the late testing and diagnoses of HIV: a review of the international literature. HIV Nursing. 2016; 16:97-103. King J, McManus H, Kwon A, Gray R, McGregor S. HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmissible infections in Australia: Annual surveillance report 2022. Sydney, Australia: The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney; 2022. …
New HIV Diagnosis
John McAllister: HIV Clinical Nurse Consultant, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney Revised and updated by Cherie Bennett Summary This chapter discusses nurses’ roles in caring for people, newly diagnosed with HIV. Introduction Engagement Ensuring engagement and a patient-centred approach Contact tracing Introduction In 2022, 555 Australians received a diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, a 46% …