Abstract
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate perceptions of young adults regarding HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) and the factors contributing to either negative or positive perceptions towards the programme. This article is a report of a concept analysis of young adults' perceptions of HCT that were collected during the study.Background: Perception forms the core of HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) use by young adults, because it is from these perceptions that young adults will decide to follow an HCT programme or not, depending on how they perceive the programme. HCT as an entry point in HIV and AIDS services should be accessible and young adults' perceptions towards the programme be promoted in order to assist them to develop positive perceptions towards the programme, which will enhance its uptake.Data sources: A literature search was undertaken using internet search engines, different journals, websites and electronic literature indexes. A sample of 60 documents met the criteria. The inclusion criterion was any article addressing perceptions in psychology, social sciences, nursing and education were reviewed.Review method: A concept analysis was conducted according to the steps of Rodger andKnafl (2000); Walker and Avant (2005) and Wilson (1963).Results: Perception has been defined as a constructive process that relies on a top-down processing. This entails that people make inferences about what they see and try to make a best guess as to what the object is all about. Attributes for perception were defined as intensity and physical dimension of stimulus, past experiences, and attention factors such as readiness to respond to the stimulus, motivation and emotional state of the subject. Consequences include increasedHCTuptake by young adults, a positive lifestyle, a reduction in the spreading of HIV and AIDS and lowered HIV statistics amongst young adults.Conclusion: The study findings related to HCT and perceptions paved the way towards a further understanding of HCT as an entry programme in HIV/AIDS services or programmes in relation to young adults. The ability of young adults to use their auditory senses to hear the nurses talk about HCT and HIV, the ability to see the attitudes displayed by HCT counsellors, and their perceptions with regard to lack of privacy, together with a lack of treatment for HIV made young adults to perceive HCT programme as being of less importance to them.
Highlights
Young adults have always acknowledged the availability of HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) and they have their own way of perceiving HCT programmes as well as the issues affecting the use of HCT by young adults
The ability of young adults to use their auditory senses to hear nurses talk about HCT and HIV, the ability to see attitudes displayed by HCT counsellors, and their perceptions with regard to lack of privacy, together with lack of treatment for HIV, cause young adults to perceive HCT programmes as being of less importance
The best concept to describe these responses and discussions was perceptions, because it is from perceptions that a person would feel the need to use an HCT programme or not
Summary
Young adults have always acknowledged the availability of HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) and they have their own way of perceiving HCT programmes as well as the issues affecting the use of HCT by young adults. After a research conducted regarding views of young adults in relation to HCT use by young adults, the concept ‘perception’ was drawn, because each young adult has his or her own way of looking at HCT programmes and the ways affecting its acceptance by young adults; perceptions are discussed as being positive and negative towards HCT. The information presented by Bodibe (2011) reflects that there is high rate of refusals; there is a need to understand the perceptions of people regarding HCT services. South Africa is rated number one in the world regarding HIV infections (UNAIDS, 2013)
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