Reconsidering HIV testing—consent is still the key
Francis J. BowdenAustralian National University Medical School and Canberra Sexual Health Centre, The Canberra Hospital, Canberra, ACT 2605, Australia. Email: frank.bowden@act.gov.au
Sexual Health 2(3) 165-167 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH05016
Submitted: 21 March 2005 Accepted: 19 May 2005 Published: 20 September 2005
Abstract
The high quality and easy accessibility of HIV testing in Australia has been one of the reasons for Australia’s effective response to the epidemic. However there have been a number of changes in the epidemiology of HIV and new technologies and treatments have emerged since the last Australian HIV policy was released in 1998. Antenatal testing to prevent vertical transmission, the licensing of rapid, point-of-care test kits in the United States and the problem of late diagnosis of infection in some populations are important issues to consider in the context of the drafting of a new HIV testing policy. The terms ‘pre- and post-test counselling’ are seen, by some, as barriers to HIV testing in the broader community. Reframing the process with a focus on the desired result (i.e. informed consent for voluntary testing) rather than on the process (i.e. pre-test counselling) could be one way to increase the rate of appropriate testing.
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