[Counseling and HIV-testing among hospital patients in Arusha and Kilimanjaro]

In 1989 the Ministry of Health in Tanzania decided that all patients suspected to be HIV-infected should be counselled in order to prevent or reduce the risk of HIV-transmission and to help people cope with the disease. This article describes the introduction of a counselling service at the Regional Hospitals of Arusha and Kilimanjaro and provides an overview of our experiences during the period 1990-92. Patients at the two hospitals received pre-test, post-test and follow-up counselling. Of 1,194 persons pre-test counselled, 95% gave their informed consent to be tested 62% were HIV-positive. Data on clinical pretest assessment of the patients matched the HIV-test assessment of the patients matched the HIV-test results for those assessed to have full blown AIDS, but there was more discrepancy for patients assessed to have early signs of AIDS or to be in the terminal phase. The majority of the HIV-positive patients accepted their diagnosis when informed. The routines at the hospitals are still functional five years after the introduction of the counselling service.