Objective: Learn the perceptions of patients with sexually transmitted infections and sexual partners who are notified of the infection. Method: A descriptive and qualitative study, based on the collective subject discourse technique, was conducted in four healthcare centers of reference in Fortaleza, Ceará, from March to July 2014. The sample comprised 21 subjects (11 index patients and 10 notified partners). Results: The index patients reported complicity, concern about the partner's health and revelation of diagnosis aiming to preserve the relationship. The partners showed antagonistic perceptions: tranquilitybetrayal, fear of death, of incurability and the diagnosis, especially of HIV. The reasons for coming to a healthcare center were: fear of being sick, attenuation of guilt of infection transmission, need for diagnosis, early start of treatment. Conclusion: Fear of losing trust, insecurities when dealing with a sexual infection and being responsible or coresponsible for the transmission were the predominant feelings. Various types of partner notification were reported (verbal, telephone, notification card), according to individual convenience. This study suggests the use of alternative methods of notification and an integrated system of notification.

Objective: to understand the difficulties and facilities of professionals to notify sexual partners with sexually transmitted infections. Methods: qualitative study carried out with 19 professionals from four referral services in sexually transmitted infections. A semistructured interview was conducted and the statements were analyzed through Content Analysis technique. Results: the difficulties identified were: diversity of types of sexual relationships, resistance of the index patient, emphasis on information transmission, ineffective verbal communication, insufficient time and absence of monitoring. The facilities were: respect for patient autonomy, counseling free of judgments, effective verbal communication, motivation and negotiation, written communication, confidential environment, partnership with the multiprofessional team, communication through card to evaluate effectiveness of notification. Conclusion: based on the competencies, communication was identified as a facilitator of empowerment of the index patient in the process of to reveal the infection to the contacts, and weaknesses emerged in the conduct of cases about the knowledge, planning, implementation, partnership and evaluation.