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Ensuring partners are tested and treated is an important way of controlling the spread of infection. Contact tracing is a necessary but sensitive part of managing diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection.
Contact tracing is particularly desirable where:
For more information on the Contact Tracing Support Officers.
STI Contact Tracing Tool for General Practice (PDF 107KB)
Contact Tracing step-by-step brochure with tear off cards (PDF 264KB)
There are more forms and sexual health resources on the Forms and Resources page.
Cooperation of the index case is essential to successful contact tracing, gained by obtaining trust and providing an explanation of the reasons for contact tracing. Balancing duty to warn, duty of care and duty of confidentiality enables effective contact tracing. Contact tracing should not be undertaken unless an STI or BBV has been diagnosed through an examination or a lab test.
Contact tracing can be conducted by the index case, the service provider, a referral agency or a combination of these. When deciding which contact tracing method to recommend, consider:
The Australasian Society of HIV Medicine (ASHM) offers this free online learning module for health care workers servicing hard to reach populations.
Please note that the training courses on this website may have been developed by other States, Territories or other professional organisations, and therefore the policy and/or legislative content may not be applicable to the Queensland setting.
Basic information, such as the frequency of asymptomatic transmission, will encourage the patient to contact partners. Have literature on hand. Multilingual pamphlets are available from sexual health services.
Contact letter stating diagnosis and management, which the patient can hand to their partners, are useful and available from the Let Them Know website.
The index patient is the ideal person to contact partners, but this is sometimes not practical or culturally possible, and local health workers or Queensland Health contact tracers may need to be involved. Useful information for contact tracers includes: name, age, address, hair colour, accent, race and any distinguishing features.
If the patient cannot remember details, inquire whether any of the patient’s friends could give more details or whether the patient could go back to the meeting place and make inquiries.
Psychological issues such as guilt, relationship problems or sexual identity may inhibit the patient from giving information. Recognise your own prejudices and take into account any negative feelings you may have towards certain groups such as sex workers, gay men or injecting drug users. It is a professionals responsibility to both recognise and overcome these feelings of prejudice or bias.
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