Patients' attitudes towards routine HIV testing at Athlone Hospital, Botswana

Abstract

In Botswana, efforts to increase the coverage of HIV testing include routine HIV testing, where the healthcare provider (rather than the patient) initiates the test. The aim of the study was to assess patients' attitudes towards routine HIV testing and their willingness to undergo HIV tests. A cross-sectional study was done with 300 conveniently selected respondents who completed self-administered questionnaires to assess their attitudes towards routine HIV testing. The respondents had positive attitudes towards routine HIV testing and agreed that routine testing should be offered at health facilities to everybody as this could help to control HIV. Most respondents associated HIV testing with prevention and control of HIV. Almost three-quarters of the respondents indicated that patients were testing freely and over a third were satisfied with health services. More than a third of the respondents were unwilling to be tested for HIV. The implementation of the HIV policy should continue to be monitored in all districts to determine whether healthcare workers understand and implement the policy.