Patient Acceptance of and Satisfaction with Rapid HIV Testing in a Labor and Delivery Setting

Abstract

To evaluate women's acceptance of and satisfaction with rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in a labor and delivery (L&D) setting. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of pregnant women who underwent counseling for rapid HIV testing in an L&D unit at a university-affiliated urban hospital from April 1, 2005, to July 15, 2006. Medical chart abstractions were performed for all 158 eligible women, and a convenience sample of 46 women also completed a survey evaluating their satisfaction using a validated decisional conflict scale. Uptake of rapid HIV testing was 98.1% (155 of 158). Overall, 89.1% of the 46 surveyed women reported feeling satisfied with their testing experience, and 82.6% of women reported no decisional conflict in making decisions for rapid testing; 9% of women reported decisional conflict. The median decisional conflict score on a scale of 0-100 was 5 (mean 11.6, SD 16). In addition, most women reported feeling certain about their decision to test (87.0%), feeling informed about testing (76.1%), having high levels of clarity about their values regarding testing (76.1%), and feeling supported in their decision-making process (76.1%). In this study population, there was a high level of acceptance and satisfaction with rapid HIV testing in the L&D setting. Rapid HIV testing is a vital component of perinatal HIV transmission prevention, as well as being an opportunity for women, some of whom have little contact with the healthcare system, to learn their HIV status.