Introduction

Various research data suggest that anxiety about transmission to current and future sexual partners is a major concern for individuals with genital herpes (GH). Education and counseling efforts, however, have been complicated by the lack of a clear prevention message for those infected, their partners, and other at-risk populations. For example, condoms have long been characterized as having limited effectiveness for prevention of GH, and until recently, no data were available about the impact of antiviral therapy on transmission rates. Discoveries about the frequency of viral shedding in the 1990s, meanwhile, highlighted the challenges of prevention, with data showing that GH reactivated more often than previously realized in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

New scientific evidence has recently been presented on condoms and on one antiviral approach to the prevention of GH. Against this backdrop, there is an increasingly compelling need to understand how patients and their partners evaluate risk of transmission, understand prevention options, and make decisions about various prevention strategies, including disclosure, condom use, antivirals, and other measures.

Objectives

Through this study, funded by an educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline, the American Social Health Association (ASHA) will accomplish the following:

1. Develop valid and reliable measures for assessing GH prevention perceptions;
2. Understand GH prevention perceptions of patients and partner at-risk; and,
3. Assist clinicians, health educators, and public health officials in future efforts to address GH prevention by gaining insights into patient and partner perceptions about preventing genital herpes.

Activities

• Phase One involves conducting a series of virtual focus group interviews with GH patients. Discussion will include perceptions about the risk of transmission to partners, barriers and facilitating factors contributing to risk reduction measures, and efficacy of prevention measures. In addition, patients will be asked to describe their understanding of the current science and what types of health communication messages clarify understanding. Transcripts will be analyzed to inform the next phase.
• Phase Two is an online survey. The qualitative data from the focus groups will inform the online survey to collect quantitative information from patients and at-risk partners recruited from the Internet. These measures will capture key factors that influence decision-making about genital herpes prevention and determine which messages accurately communicate the efficacy of prevention strategies.

Expected Outcomes

Prior to this study, little was known about how patients translate herpes prevention messages into health protective behaviors. Study results uncovered herpes prevention perceptions and actions as well as recommendations for communicating these messages. These results will prove essential for health care professionals who educate and counsel patients regarding herpes transmission and prevention. ASHA presented study findings from Phase One at the 2004 IUSTI Meeting in Mykonos. Findings from the quantitative survey data have been published in the journal HERPES.

Contact Information

This project is completed. For more information, please contact P&RFeedback@ashastd.org.

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