The STD/HIV Prevention Training Center Network Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Core Training Programs: Partner Services and Program Support

Partner Services and Program Support Training courses are designed for federal, state, and local public health professionals, especially those working in STD/HIV prevention programs. Several courses focus on training to help develop the skills of disease intervention specialists and prevention counselors, public health nurses, and family planning providers; other courses are designed to support STD and HIV prevention programs at state, local, and community levels. Courses range from 1 day to 2 weeks, and the inclusion of experiential learning under the guidance of qualified preceptors is integral to all the course offerings.

Centers offering Partner Services and Program Support Training:

Centers serving your state/terrritory:     

Course Descriptions


Introduction to Sexually Transmitted Disease Intervention (ISTDI)
This 9-day course is designed for full-time disease intervention specialists (DIS). It emphasizes the development of skills and techniques for interviewing STD patients in order to identify sex partners for referral to medical evaluation. It also focuses on how to help patients manage current infection and prevent future ones. Participants practice communication, problem solving, and motivation skills in role-plays, and receive feedback from the instructor. The course includes an introduction to visual case analysis for syphilis, case management, and the Lot System. Prior to attending this course, participants will need to successfully complete the CDC "2006 Employee Development Guide".
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Fundamentals of Sexually Transmitted Disease Intervention (Fund of ISTDI)
This 5-day course designed for counselors, managers of staff who conduct partner services, public health nurses, or other prevention workers who need comprehensive partner service skills. Focusing on gonorrhea and chlamydia, this class will cover interview periods, communication, assertiveness, problem solving, the STD interview format, field investigations, partner notification and referral, and a brief overview of case management. This course does not provide in-depth syphilis case management or visual case analysis. Prior to attending this course, participants will need to successfully complete selected portions of the CDC "2006 Employee Development Guide".
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HIV Partner Counseling and Referral Services (PCRS)
This 3-day course is a skills-based training designed for staff in both prevention and care programs working with people living with HIV. This course provides participants with the knowledge and skills to conduct partner counseling, elicitation, and field-oriented HIV partner notification. Participants also role-play situations likely to be encountered during an HIV field investigation. Additionally, the course will provide a perspective on local PCRS considerations. A prerequisite for this course is the successful completion of the course Fundamentals of Prevention Counseling.
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Using Social Networks: A Recruitment Strategy for Counseling, Testing and Referral (SNS)
The goals of this 2 to 3-day training are to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of how to utilize social networks as a recruitment strategy for Counseling, Testing and Referral (CTR) and to develop knowledge and skills needed to successfully implement SNS for CTR in HIV/STD prevention agencies. SNS allows agencies to reach highest-risk persons, hard-to-reach communities and HIV infected individuals who are unaware of their status by building on existing relationships of trust, in turn creating positive responses to HIV testing messages. At the end of the training, participants will be able to differentiate SNS from other activities, explain the four phases of the SNS, describe the benefits of SNS to reach people at high risk for infection, and develop a plan for implementation.

Recommended participants: staff of agencies interested in implementing (recommend 1 project manager/coordinator and 1 implementation staff member), and state contract monitoring and/or technical assistance staff and one person who is responsible for monitoring and/or providing technical assistance.


Additional Course Offerings

NOTE: Contact the individual training centers for specifics about their additional course offerings

Chlamydia Partner Management for Family Planning Providers
This 1-day course assists family planning staff to facilitate a client-centered discussion of Chlamydia infection and appropriately answer client concerns around partners. Discussion of key client motivators in explaining the benefits of partner referral to clients is addressed and also features information about all sex partner notification options, with an emphasis on client self-referral of partners for examination and treatment.

Partner Services and Referral for Health Care Professionals
The 1 to 3-day course is designed to enable health care professionals, especially in rural health care settings, to develop the skills, knowledge and techniques to better elicit, notify and refer sex partners of clients infected with STDs or HIV infection. This course is also available as a training-of-trainers for STD/HIV prevention program staff interested in obtaining the skills and materials needed to present this course independently in their local site. This course can be accomplished through distance learning methods using self-paced modules, or presented on-site as a classroom training. Students skills are evaluated through videotaped role plays scenarios, and through pre- and post-course testing. Feedback is provided for both training settings. The 16-hour course on STD partner elicitation/notification can be expanded to 24 hours to include instruction on partner elicitation/notification for patients infected with HIV infection.

Training/Operations for Safety Around Field Encounters (TOPSAFE)
This 2-day interactive skill-building course is for public health professionals who are involved in fieldwork, such as full-time Disease Intervention Specialists or community outreach workers. Participants experience situations associated with basic safety principles, interpersonal communications, and problem solving. This course also is available in a self-study format.