Assessing stakeholder perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of national scale-up for a dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test in Malawi.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The WHO recommends pregnant women receive both HIV and syphilis testing at their first antenatal care visit, as untreated maternal infections can lead to severe, adverse pregnancy outcomes. One strategy for increasing testing for both HIV and syphilis is the use of point-of-care (rapid) diagnostic tests that are simple, proven effective and inexpensive. In Malawi, pregnant women routinely receive HIV testing, but only 10% are tested for syphilis at their first antenatal care visit. This evaluation explores stakeholder perceptions of a novel, dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test and potential barriers to national scale-up of the dual test in Malawi.

Methods

During June and July 2015, we conducted 15 semistructured interviews with 25 healthcare workers, laborator

SUBMITTER: Maddox BLP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6760243 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature