Usefulness of voluntary counseling and testing center for HIV/AIDS: Bihar as an example

Rapid operation assessment of voluntary HIV counselling and testing services in three cities in China, 2009

OBJECTIVES

To assess the operation of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services forhuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in three cities in China.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional study using mixed methods, including focus group discussions,in-depth interviews, field assessment, archive checking and structured questionnaire interviews, was conducted to assess different aspects of VCT services.

METHODS

Surveys were undertaken in six counties of three China Global Fund AIDS Program (Round Five) cities, including 11 VCT clinics, 38 counsellors, 83 clients and 332 individuals at risk for HIV infection.

RESULTS

All counsellors were trained and approved for providing counselling. As there were adequate numbers of clinics and counsellors, VCT services ran smoothly. Clients were generally satisfied with VCT services and considered service operation to be adequate. Problems with the VCT programme included fewer VCT services in general hospitals, lack of a referral mechanism, and long delays between testing and receipt of results.

CONCLUSIONS

The operation of VCT services in the three cities was generally adequate, but referral services were poor. More attention needs to be paid to HIV testing and counselling in general hospitals, and referral networks need to be strengthened.

Expansion of HIV laboratory diagnostic services in Chennai, India 2001-2006: is the growth commensurate with the need?

OBJECTIVE

To describe the changes in HIV services provided and the patient population utilizing voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services at private testing laboratories in Chennai, India in 2001 and 2006.

METHODS

In 2001, a cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted to assess the services provided and client population of 1,031 private laboratories. A subset of labs (9%) that had been surveyed in 2001 were also studied in 2006.

RESULTS

In 2001, significantly more high volume labs (>10 HIV tests per month) offered HIV diagnostic tests than low volume labs (<10 HIV test per month) (p<0.001). More high volume labs (20.0%) provided pre-test counseling as part of HIV testing than low volume labs (11.1%) (p = 0.003). Between 2001 and 2006, the number of labs that provided HIV diagnostic tests significantly increased, including ELISA (87.8% vs. 40.0%), Western Blot (84.4% vs. 13.3%), and Tridot (98.9% vs. 72.2%) (p<0.001). Also the number of labs that reported greater than 10 women seeking HIV testing per month significantly increased from 14.5% to 79.0% (p = 0.006). More labs provided pre-test counseling in 2006 (34.4%) than in 2001 (21.1%) (p = 0.046).

CONCLUSIONS

Though HIV diagnostic testing services have increasingly become available, counseling services have not expanded commensurately. Further outreach and education is necessary to expand comprehensive HIV VCT services in both urban and rural India.

Why are people getting tested? Self-reported reasons for seeking voluntary counseling and testing at a clinic in Chennai, India

VCT has been shown to be an important HIV risk reduction strategy; however, little is known about who attends VCT or why people seek VCT. A retrospective analysis was performed on charts of 6330 clients who attended VCT between 1994 and 2002 at Y.R. Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education, a non-governmental organization in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Most clients reported more than one reason for attending VCT, and the most commonly reported reasons were risk behavior, having symptoms, having a current HIV-positive partner, and reconfirming a previous positive HIV test. Reasons varied by gender and over time, and the likelihood of testing positive for HIV varied by reason reported. Understanding why people seek VCT informs an understanding of knowledge and attitudes about HIV and HIV testing, which has implications for the development of education, outreach and other HIV prevention services.