Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
HIV Med. 2012 Mar;13(3):156-65. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2011.00951.x. Epub 2011 Nov 22.
Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV infection is an important tool for prevention of HIV infection and AIDS in high-risk groups. Our goal was to describe the acceptability and consequences of VCT among a stigmatized and vulnerable group, female sex workers (FSWs), in Conakry, Guinea.
Acceptance of the test and return for test results at baseline and consequences of testing 1 year later were described. The perceived risk of HIV infection and perceived benefits and barriers to testing were examined using quantitative and qualitative methods.
All 421 FSW participants agreed to undergo VCT and most participants (92%) returned for their results. The main reason cited for VCT acceptance was the wish to know their HIV status. However, some managers of FSW worksites urged FSWs to be tested, curtailing FSWs' free decision-making. One year later, status disclosure was common (90% of the 198 individuals who knew their results among those who participated in the follow-up part of the study). Positive consequences of testing were far more frequently reported than negative consequences (98% vs. 2%, respectively). Negative life events included banishment from the worksite (one case) and verbal abuse (two cases).
Acceptability of VCT appears high in the FSW population in Conakry as a consequence of both perceptions of high individual risk and social pressures.
自愿咨询检测（VCT）是预防高危人群中 HIV 感染和艾滋病的重要工具。我们的目标是描述在一个受污名化和脆弱的群体，即性工作者（FSW）中，VCT 的可接受性和后果，该群体位于几内亚科纳克里。
描述了基线时接受检测和返回检测结果的情况，以及 1 年后检测的后果。使用定量和定性方法检查了对 HIV 感染的感知风险以及对检测的感知益处和障碍。
所有 421 名 FSW 参与者都同意接受 VCT，大多数参与者（92%）返回了检测结果。接受 VCT 的主要原因是希望了解自己的 HIV 状况。然而，一些 FSW 工作场所的管理者敦促 FSW 接受检测，限制了 FSW 的自由决策。一年后，检测结果的披露很常见（在参加研究随访部分的 198 名已知检测结果的人中，有 90%）。与负面后果（分别为 2%）相比，检测的积极后果被报告的频率更高（分别为 98%）。负面的生活事件包括被逐出工作场所（1 例）和言语虐待（2 例）。
在科纳克里的 FSW 人群中，VCT 的可接受性似乎很高，这是由于个人风险高和社会压力的双重认知。
