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Desired elements of HIV testing services: test recipient perspectives.

Catherine Worthington¹, Ted Myers

¹Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. cworth@ucalgary.ca

AIDS Patient Care and Stds

|January 7, 2003

Summary

Understanding patient needs is crucial for effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing services. Improving counseling skills and offering personalized options enhance the quality of HIV testing experiences for recipients.

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Area of Science:

Public Health
Health Services Research
Behavioral Science

Background:

Voluntary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is a key component of HIV prevention and care strategies.
Understanding the perspectives of individuals receiving HIV testing services is essential for service improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify key elements of HIV testing services that are important to test recipients.
To inform the development of patient-centered HIV testing programs.

Main Methods:

Thematic analysis of interview transcripts from 39 voluntary HIV test recipients in Ontario.
Purposive sampling based on HIV serostatus, risk behaviors, region, gender, and testing format.
Colleague review for dependability and comparison with existing literature on patient satisfaction.

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Main Results:

Identified 28 critical service elements across access, service structure, technical aspects, and interpersonal processes.
Key factors include convenience, privacy, provider characteristics, informed consent, result delivery, decision support, and emotional support.
Counseling skills training for test providers and individualized information/counseling were highlighted as important.

Conclusions:

Enhancing counseling skills for all test counselors is vital for quality HIV testing.
Offering choices in testing services and individualized support improves patient experience.
Patient-centered approaches are crucial for optimizing HIV testing services.