While the majority of medical inpatients in Uganda are assumed to be HIV-positive, HIV testing is limited in inpatient settings. This study describes HIV testing practices and risk behavior among medical inpatients at an urban hospital in Uganda. We interviewed 395 adults on the day of discharge. Overall, 46% tested for HIV before or during admission. Of the 20% tested during hospitalization, 64% were HIV-positive. Among 47% who had sex in the previous year, only 14% used condoms consistently and only 20% knew the HIV status of their sexual partner, indicating that participants would benefit from risk-reduction counseling. Yet, only 26% of participants tested during hospitalization received post-test counseling. Half of the participants with HIV-related illnesses left the hospital without being offered the test, a missed opportunity for HIV prevention counseling and care. The findings indicate that hospitals are important venues for HIV counseling and testing.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, University of California San Francisco-Gladstone Institute of Virology & Immunology Center for AIDS Research, P30 AI27763 and the University of California, Berkeley Fogarty International AIDS Training Program (AITRP), The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following people towards the successful design and conduct of this study: Prof. Andrew Moss and Richard Clark from UCSF, and the interviewers and patients who participated in the study.
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Wanyenze, R., Kamya, M., Liechty, C.A. et al. HIV Counseling and Testing Practices at an Urban Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. AIDS Behav 10, 361–367 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-9035-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-9035-9