Implementation of routine counselor-initiated opt-out HIV testing on the adult medical ward at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi

Type Journal Article - Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (1999)
Title Implementation of routine counselor-initiated opt-out HIV testing on the adult medical ward at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi
Author(s)
Volume 69
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
Page numbers e31-e35
URL https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4424115/
Abstract
The optimal approach of provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) for inpatients in high-burden settings is unknown. We prospectively evaluated the implementation of task-shifting from clinician-referral to counselor-initiated PITC on the medical wards of Kamuzu Central Hospital, Malawi. The majority of patients (1905/3154, 60.4%) had an unknown admission HIV status. Counselors offered testing to 66.6% (1268/1905). HIV prevalence was 39.3%. Counselor-initiated PITC significantly increased HIV testing by 79% (643/2957 vs. 1228/3154), resulting in an almost 2-fold increase in patients with known HIV status (2447/3154 vs. 1249/3154) (both p<.0001), with 18.4% of those tested receiving a new diagnosis of HIV.

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