HIV counselling and testing is a key component of both HIV care and HIV prevention, but uptake of counselling and testing is often low. Liz Corbett and colleagues investigated the impact of rapid HIV testing at the workplace on uptake of voluntary counselling and testing in Harare, Zimbabwe. Uptake was high when testing and counseling was offered on-site at the workplace and linked to basic HIV care.
These results suggest that this approach could improve uptake of HIV testing in Africa from its current low level. The results also suggest that providing counselling and testing intermittently might be as effective as continuous provision. The researchers conclude that a relatively minor change in accessibility to testing can translate into a major difference in test uptake. This may hold true in non-occupational settings as well.
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Citation: Corbett EL, Dauya E, Matambo R, Cheung YB, Makamure B, et al. (2006) Uptake of workplace HIV counselling and testing: A cluster-randomised trial in Zimbabwe. PLoS Med 3(7): e238.
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CONTACT:
Elizabeth Corbett
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Infectious and Tropical Diseases
Keppel Street
London, WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom
263 4 744 634
263 4 303 978 (fax)
elc1@mweb.co.zw
liz.corbett@lshtm.ac.uk
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