SEARCH
= Paid-up subscribersHealthcare professionals' views a barrier to HIV testing
20 Dec 2010
The attitude of doctors and healthcare administrative staff is a greater obstacle to extending HIV testing than that of patients, a study has found.This paper set out to explore the attitudes of patients to being offered HIV testing in Cornwall where the prevalence is reported as 32 per 100,000 population. Patients attending six GP practices and selected hospital outpatient clinics, between November 2008 and January 2009, were enrolled in the study. They were given a short information sheet on HIV and asked to respond to a series of statements about HIV testing. 'This study was carried out in an area in the UK with relatively low HIV prevalence so the findings may not be transferable to urban areas with higher prevalence and, presumably, greater awareness. However, this is an assumption and the negative attitudes to HIV testing expressed by some individuals working in secondary care is extremely worrying. It appears the public are broadly in favour, it's the medical profession that is the barrier to increasing testing.'
This article can only be accessed if you are a registered user of thepractitioner.co.uk or a subscriber to The Practitioner.