Women's experience of HIV testing: the views of HIV positive and HIV negative women.

As part of a study of the psychosocial impact of HIV infection in women, 23 HIV seropositive and 23 seronegative women were asked about their experience of being tested for HIV. The majority of those who tested negative sought HIV testing because they felt at risk through unprotected sex, while most of the HIV positives were identified when they developed HIV-related symptoms. Pretest counselling was not universal, in particular in the case of HIV seropositives, some of whom were tested without consent. A substantial proportion of women, regardless of serostatus, had not communicated to anyone their intentions to have a test. There was some regret about knowing their HIV status, in particular in seropositives. The implications of the findings are discussed.