Partners in Prevention: An Examination into the Creation, Operation and Regulation of Online HIV/STD Partner Notification Programs

Abstract

Partner notification serves as a method for tracing sexually transmitted diseases and informing sexual partners about their possible exposure to a communicable disease. While much of the history and scholarly literature about partner notification has focused on its use in the offline context, considerably less work has examined the movement of this public health tool online where growing numbers of people are using social media, dating sites, and hookup apps to meet others for social and sexual purposes. This thesis documents the emergence and development of online HIV/STD partner notification, and it is the first study to critically examine the ethical underpinnings of its practice. Through its application of Nancy Kass's framework for public health ethics, the research presented here demonstrates that online partner notification can be undertaken in an ethically sound manner, yet greater research is needed to understand its effectiveness in an increasingly digitized world.