1. HIV testing uptake and acceptability in an inner city polyclinic.
- Author
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Ashby, J., Braithewaite, B., Walsh, J., Gnani, S., Fidler, S., and Cooke, G.
- Subjects
DIAGNOSIS of HIV infections ,HIV infection risk factors ,ATTITUDE (Psychology) ,HEALTH facilities ,METROPOLITAN areas ,PATIENT satisfaction ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,RISK perception ,SCALES (Weighing instruments) ,SELF-evaluation ,PILOT projects ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
Up to 33% of HIV-infected adults in the UK remain undiagnosed and efforts to increase HIV testing are underway. HIV testing was conducted amongst individuals presenting to a polyclinic at a central London hospital using a point of care test. Demographic and HIV risk data was collected along with a patient feedback questionnaire exploring acceptability of the HIV testing experience. Seventy-one out of 93 (76%) individuals accepted HIV testing. Of those accepting HIV testing, 53/71 (75%) had never previously tested for HIV despite, 45/53 (85%) of these being registered with a GP. Twenty-seven out of 71 (38%) of individuals testing had at least one risk factor associated with HIV acquisition, and of these 17/27 (63%) had never previously tested for HIV infection. There were no new HIV positive diagnoses during the period of testing. Respondents indicated a high level of satisfaction with the service and more than 85% found the service to be helpful, educational and convenient. This small proof of concept pilot showed uptake of HIV testing in this setting to be high and acceptable to patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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