A study on the timing of HIV repeat test: A case study of Mary Immaculate VCT Center, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Population testing, especially those at risk, plays an important role in preventing and managing the HIV pandemic. It helps practitioners in identifying individuals who need to be counseled on behavior change as well as those who need to be enrolled in HIV care and treatment programs. Further still, policy makers also use outcomes of such tests in determining whether their strategies are bearing fruits or not. In this study, we sought to determine the time interval within which sexually active individuals seek HIV repeat tests in relation to their gender and marital statuses. We observed that majority of the respondents (39.8%, n=47) sought HIV repeat test within a period of 7-12 months, which we considered as short interval that leads to early diagnosis. We also observed a section of the respondents were also seeking HIV repeat test after a period that exceeded 13 months. We considered the latter as long interval that leads to late diagnosis of HIV. We further observed that, a majority of the respondents who were either married or had never been married before, sought HIV repeat tests within a short interval compared to those who were either divorced or widowed. We concluded that most widowed and divorced respondents were more likely to receive late diagnosis of HIV than those who were either married or had never been married before. Most studies have indicated that people who are unaware of their HIV status carry a higher risk of infecting others.