Why won’t people go for testing?
May 22, 2007
Dear Doctor, <br>I am a peer educator involved in trying to help as many people as possible in my area to go for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT). However, I am finding that many people do not want to test. What could be the cause of this, considering that now we have some ARVs in our area a
Dear Doctor,
I am a peer educator involved in trying to help as many people as possible in my area to go for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT). However, I am finding that many people do not want to test. What could be the cause of this, considering that now we have some ARVs in our area and yet the uptake is very low?
Pearl, Kisoro
Dear Pearl,
Results of the Uganda sero-behavioural survey show that the majority of Ugandans (about 75%) have never done an HIV test and hence do not know their HIV sero-status. Most people just hope they are HIV-negative and this is one of the drivers of the HIV epidemic in this country.
Some of the reasons why the number is that high include difficulty in finding testing sites and irregular availability of testing kits at these sites. If people come to a testing centre and they are told to come back, they may not do so because when one is not sick, they may not return, as he may not regard HIV testing a priority.
Another reason is the lack of leadership in this area. Our leaders have done well to urge people to go for the HIV test. But people would like to see those leaders (including peer educators) lead by example or “walk the talkâ€, and show that they are doing what they are urging others to do.
Some of our leaders feel discouraged because they imagine that one must share one’s results publicly if one has taken the HIV test publicly. In my opinion, taking a test and announcing that you are, for example HIV-negative, can actually be counter-productive. We would get better response if leaders and prominent people in our communities went for HIV testing publicly, then the issue of whether to share their results publicly or not would be addressed at another point in time. Unless the stigma which comes from wrong attitudes about people living with HIV/AIDS is dealt with, it will remain impossible for us to eradicate HIV/AIDS. Let us change attitudes; challenge stigma, denial and discrimination in order to increase our VCT uptake!
I am a peer educator involved in trying to help as many people as possible in my area to go for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT). However, I am finding that many people do not want to test. What could be the cause of this, considering that now we have some ARVs in our area and yet the uptake is very low?
Pearl, Kisoro
Dear Pearl,
Results of the Uganda sero-behavioural survey show that the majority of Ugandans (about 75%) have never done an HIV test and hence do not know their HIV sero-status. Most people just hope they are HIV-negative and this is one of the drivers of the HIV epidemic in this country.
Some of the reasons why the number is that high include difficulty in finding testing sites and irregular availability of testing kits at these sites. If people come to a testing centre and they are told to come back, they may not do so because when one is not sick, they may not return, as he may not regard HIV testing a priority.
Another reason is the lack of leadership in this area. Our leaders have done well to urge people to go for the HIV test. But people would like to see those leaders (including peer educators) lead by example or “walk the talkâ€, and show that they are doing what they are urging others to do.
Some of our leaders feel discouraged because they imagine that one must share one’s results publicly if one has taken the HIV test publicly. In my opinion, taking a test and announcing that you are, for example HIV-negative, can actually be counter-productive. We would get better response if leaders and prominent people in our communities went for HIV testing publicly, then the issue of whether to share their results publicly or not would be addressed at another point in time. Unless the stigma which comes from wrong attitudes about people living with HIV/AIDS is dealt with, it will remain impossible for us to eradicate HIV/AIDS. Let us change attitudes; challenge stigma, denial and discrimination in order to increase our VCT uptake!