Women’s communication self-efficacy and expectations of primary male partners’ cooperation in sexually transmitted infection treatment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Effective control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) depends on affected patients notifying their sexual partners, and partners following through with screening and treatment. Our study assessed high-risk-STI women’s confidence in STI-diagnosis-related communications with their primary male partners in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and determined associated characteristics of the women and their partners. METHODS: We employed convenience and snowball sampling in a clinic-based setting to recruit 126 women from August to October 2013. All data were obtained from women’s self-report. RESULTS: The proportions of participants who were “slightly confident” or “very confident” that they could disclose their STI positivity to partners, ask partners to have an STI examination or treatment, and give partners bacterial-STI medications were 70.3 %, 62.1 %, and 69.0 %, respectively. The proportions who perceived that their partners would be “very likely” to have an STI examination and to take STI medications were 16.2 % and 38.8 %, respectively. Significantly lower self-efficacy was observed in women who had a lower education level, who had ever traded sex, or whose primary partners were not husbands or fiancés. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest potential for piloting STI-partner-targeted interventions. To be effective, these programs should improve women’s self-efficacy and primary partners’ cooperation with screening and treatment.