Australian health care providers' views on opt-out HIV testing

Financing Benefits and Barriers to Routine HIV Screening in Clinical Settings in the United States: A Scoping Review

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone between 13-64 years be tested for HIV at least once as a routine procedure. Routine HIV screening is reimbursable by Medicare, Medicaid, expanded Medicaid, and most commercial insurance plans. Yet, scaling-up HIV routine screening remains a challenge. We conducted a scoping review for studies on financial benefits and barriers associated with HIV screening in clinical settings in the U.S. to inform an evidence-based strategy to scale-up routine HIV screening. We searched Ovid MEDLINE^®, Cochrane, and Scopus for studies published between 2006-2020 in English. The search identified 383 Citations; we screened 220 and excluded 163 (outside the time limit, irrelevant, or outside the U.S.). Of the 220 screened articles, we included 35 and disqualified 155 (did not meet the eligibility criteria). We organized eligible articles under two themes: financial benefits/barriers of routine HIV screening in healthcare settings (9 articles); and Cost-effectiveness of routine screening in healthcare settings (26 articles). The review concluded drawing recommendations in three areas: (1) Finance: Incentivize healthcare providers/systems for implementing HIV routine screening and/or separate its reimbursement from bundle payments; (2) Personnel: Encourage nurse-initiated HIV screening programs in primary care settings and educate providers on CDC recommendations; and (3) Approach: Use opt-out approach.

'We didn't have to dance around it': opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients

This study explored opt-out HIV testing in an Australian general practice. The aims were to: (1) determine the effect of the opt-out approach on the number of HIV tests performed; and (2) explore the acceptability of opt-out HIV testing from the healthcare providers' perspective. A prospective mixed-methods study of opt-out HIV testing over a 2-year period (March 2014-March 2016) was conducted. Implementation was based on a theoretical framework that was developed specifically for this study. The setting was Homeless Healthcare, a health service in Perth, Western Australia. The number of HIV tests conducted during the control year (usual practice) was compared with the intervention year (opt-out testing). After the intervention, the healthcare providers (n=8) were interviewed about their experiences with opt-out HIV testing. Directed content analysis was used to explore the qualitative data. HIV testing rates were low during both the control year and the intervention year (315 HIV tests (12% of the patient cohort) and 344 HIV tests (10%) respectively). Opt-out HIV testing was feasible and acceptable to the participating healthcare providers. Other health services could consider opt-out HIV testing for their patients to identify people with undiagnosed infections and sustain Australia's low HIV prevalence.

A comprehensive theoretical framework for the implementation and evaluation of opt-out HIV testing

Opt-out HIV testing (in which patients are offered HIV testing as a default) is a potentially powerful strategy for increasing the number of people who know their HIV status and thus limiting viral transmission. Like any change in clinical practice, implementation of opt-out HIV testing in a health service requires a change management strategy, which should have theoretical support. This paper considers the application of three theories to the implementation and evaluation of an opt-out HIV testing programme: Behavioural Economics, the Health Belief Model and Normalisation Process Theory. An awareness, understanding and integration of these theories may motivate health care providers to order HIV tests that they may not routinely order, influence their beliefs about who should be tested for HIV and inform the operational aspects of opt-out HIV testing. Ongoing process evaluation of opt-out HIV testing programmes (based on these theories) will help to achieve individual health care provider self-efficacy and group collective action, thereby improving testing rates and health outcomes.

Barriers and enablers of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS program in China: a systematic review and policy implications

OBJECTIVE

To identify the barriers to and enablers of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV program in China.

METHODS

A systematic review of the existing literature regarding barriers to and enablers of the implementation of the PMTCT program in China was performed. The checklist from the SURE guidelines (Supporting the Use of Research Evidence) was used to synthesize the barriers and enablers (supporting strategies) and to analyze their relationships. The HIV testing rate, vertical transmission rate, and antiretroviral treatment (ART) acceptance rate among HIV-infected women and their infants was also extracted from the included studies to assess the effectiveness of the enablers.

RESULTS

Initially 794 publications were identified, and ultimately 14 articles were included. Eighteen types of barrier and nine types of supportive strategy were identified, mainly at the level of social and political issues, healthcare recipients, healthcare providers, and the healthcare system. Based on government-oriented multi-sector cooperation, enablers in China have included community-hospital-family promotion, comprehensive financial support for service recipients, free HIV testing at marriage registration, the opt-out model, and the one-to-one service model.

CONCLUSIONS

Experience in China suggests that the government's role in coordination and the acceptability and accessibility of the service should be the primary concerns in regard to the PMTCT project.