The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55274

Joseph deGraft, MD, C/O Dr. Marge Koblinsky, Umoyo Network, 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington DC, DC 20036, 202-955-0070, atodiggie@yahoo.com, Valerie A. Paz Soldan, MPH, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Maternal & Child Health Dept., 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, and A.O Tsui, MA, PhD, Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, W4503, Baltimore, MD 21205-2179.

The majority of men and women in this rural Malawian district want to be tested for HIV, but only a small percent has actually ever been tested. There are a number of factors that influence the desire to be tested, as well as the actual practice of getting tested. The key factors that influence wanting to get tested that can be influenced by VCT program managers are: 1) knowledge of an HIV testing site, 2) perceived personal risk for HIV infection, and 3) knowledge of what to do to avoid HIV. To create demand for VCT services, program managers must market their services so that people know where to get tested for HIV. Implementing appropriate community mobilization strategies to make people aware of their risk for HIV infection and the support services available after testing would also assist in increasing demand for VCT services. With regards to counseling preferences, getting test results on the same day as the test was a major preference for both men and women, and policy makers and program managers must expedite their shift to same day rapid HIV tests. Couple-focused counseling was the approach of choice by most people in union to receiving their test results. However, before adopting this counseling approach on a wide-scale, it is important for VCT programs to pilot and identify effective strategies for reducing potential male verbal or physical violence towards their female partners. Strategies that improve couple communication could assist in reducing this potential adverse effect of couple-focused counseling.

Learning Objectives:

• - To identify background characteristics that are associated with wanting to be HIV tested in a rural Malawian population
• - To describe the preferred counseling approaches among rural Malawians for receiving HIV test results
• - To discuss programmatic issues to consider in the development and implementation of VCT sites in rural locations of Malawi

Keywords: HIV Interventions, International Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.