Facilitators and barriers to implementing provider-initiated HIV counselling and testing at the clinic-level in Ekurhuleni District, South Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

HIV testing is the entry point into the HIV care continuum and critical for HIV epidemic control. Facility-based HIV testing services (HTS) reach individuals who are already seeking clinical care and engaging with the medical care system. For this reason, individuals diagnosed with HIV during facility-based HIV testing are more likely to continue into HIV care. To increase the number of PLHIV who are diagnosed and initiated on ART, in 2015, the South African Department of Health instituted Provider-Initiated Counselling and Testing (PICT) policy-encouraging healthcare providers to recommend HIV testing, but this strategy remains under-utilized. We aimed to identify key constraints to the normalization of PICT implementation in 10 Ekurhuleni District healthcare facilities

SUBMITTER: Mshweshwe-Pakela N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8845300 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature