Study participants found partner notification difficult and uncomfortable.
They described fear about potential consequences of partner notification. Participants were more likely to notify regular partners in person. This was because of the availability of contact information and because of a sense of moral responsibility.
Few contact details for casual partners were kept. For casual partners, participants preferred anonymous partner notification strategies. This was mainly because they met casual partners online or through apps and were often a once-off or anonymous sex. Most participants described unexpected positive responses from partners who they contacted personally.
Our study showed that participants want professional support to carry out partner notification, especially with casual partners, as well as support around having HIV and treatments for HIV infection.