Brewer, D. D.,
Garrett, S. B., & Kulasingam, S. (1999). Forgetting as a cause of
incomplete reporting of sexual and drug injection partners. Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, 26, 166-176.
Background
and Objectives: Partner notification and social network
studies of infectious
disease often
involve interviewing people to elicit their sexual and/or drug injection
partners. Incomplete reporting of partners in these contexts
would significantly
hamper
efforts to understand and control the spread of STDs, HIV, and other infections. Many
reasons exist why individuals might not name their partners in interviews. This study
provides a comprehensive assessment of forgetting as a cause of incomplete
reporting of sexual and injection partners.
Study
Design:
One-hundred fifty-six persons in Seattle (USA) at presumed high risk for HIV recalled their
sexual and/or injection partners in two interviews separated
by one week or
three
months.
Results:
Repeated, nonspecific prompting elicited, on average, 10% or all
partners recalled in
an
interview. Subjects displayed substantial forgetting of partners across partner types,
recall periods, and four independent measurement approaches, with up to 72% of
partners forgotten. The number of partners recalled and subjective assessment of forgetting
are moderate to good predictors of the number of partners forgotten. Recalled
and forgotten partners do not differ dramatically on any of several partner variables.
Conclusion:
Forgetting is a primary factor in the incomplete reporting of sexual
and injection
partners.
Interviewers should prompt repeatedly to maximize recall of
partners. Reeinterviewing
is currently the best method available for identifying partners as completely as possible and should
be focused on individuals who report many partners and/or sense they have other
partners they cannot recall.
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