HIV Testing: Current Practice and Future Directions

Abstract

New approaches to expanding HIV testing and effective treatment and the wider availability of rapid testing technology have created new opportunities for achieving national and global HIV testing goals. In spite of HIV testing expansion in many settings, growing evidence of the prevention benefits of HIV testing, and the development of new, cost-effective approaches to HIV testing service provision, formidable obstacles to HIV testing expansion persist. Inequitable testing coverage exists within and across countries. While the proportion of people with HIV aware of their status is about 80% in the U.S., the majority of HIV-infected persons in Africa are unaware of their status. Testing of most-at-risk populations, couples, children, and adolescents pose still unresolved policy and programmatic challenges. Future directions for HIV testing include rapid testing technology and detection of acute HIV infection, self-testing expansion, and partner notification. Expanded routine HIV screening and widespread testing is a public health imperative to reach national and international HIV prevention and treatment goals.

An Exploration of Men's Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of HIV, HIV Risk, and Willingness to Test for HIV in Yendi District, Northern Ghana

“…Studies have shown that location of services makes a difference in willingness to seek health services (Cherutich et al, 2013). For instance, studies have provided mixed findings related to getting men to test for HIV in the ANC context, and have suggested that for this testing location to be successful, men must have had previous testing experience elsewhere (Mpairwe et al, 2005;Pool et al, 2001;Spielberg et al, 2001).…”

“…Another study of African American men showed a preference for medical facilities or, for those without a primary physician, for communitybased or clinic-based settings (Petroll et al, 2009). Given the barriers to VCT uptake among men, there is a need to expand and routinize HIV testing for men in various settings in order to identify new infections and initiate antiretroviral therapy (Cherutich, Bunnell, & Mermin, 2013).…”

Risk factors associated with resistance to HIV testing among transwomen in Brazil

“…Despite the expansion of HIV testing and treatment, major barriers remain at the level of the patient, at health care provider and at institutional/policy (Deblonde et al, 2010). Health policies concerning transwomen are still unresolved (Cherutich, Bunnell, & Mermin, 2013).…”

Performance evaluation of the CHEMBIO DPP® (dual path platform) HIV-1/2 assay in early and established infections

“…HIV rapid tests (RTs) have been widely adopted mainly to increase the number of people who are aware of their HIV status and to provide opportunities for faster linkage to care and treatment for those infected [1][2][3]. RTs are simple and easy to use, can be performed on different sample types, have fast result turn-around times (usually less than 30 min), and can be used in many settings since they do not require sophisticated equipment.…”