Attitudes and practices of health care workers toward routine HIV testing of infants in Côte d'Ivoire: the PEDI-TEST ANRS 12165 Project.

OBJECTIVE

We assessed attitudes and practices of health care workers (HCWs) toward HIV counselling and testing (CT) routinely offered to infants in health facilities in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional survey inquiring on systematic HIV CT offered to children aged 6-26 weeks attending postnatal care for either immunization or pediatric care and to their parents in 4 community health centres rolling-out access to antiretroviral therapy. Data were collected using standardized anonymous self-questionnaires directed to all HCWs involved.

RESULTS

One-hundred five HCWs were interviewed in 2008: 30% were social workers, 27% physicians, 24% nurses and 19% laboratory technicians. Among immunization staff (n = 45), none trained in child CT versus 26% in pediatric services (n = 60, P < 0001). Almost all staff believed that it is important to offer HIV screening services to children and the best place could be during pediatric consultations. In their daily work, 22% of immunization staff and 48% of pediatric care staff had already been dealing with early HIV CT (P = 0.01). Facing a child suspected to be HIV infected, only 54% of providers in pediatrics and 71% in immunization would offer CT to all family members (P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

In Abidjan, although HCWs were generally in favour of pediatric HIV screening, very few had received specific training to do so. Deleguation of CT to the primary care level could improve coverage of CT services. It is urgent to train HCWs to promote early infant HIV diagnosis to improve earlier access to antiretroviral therapy in West African HIV-infected children.