Situational Analysis on Voluntary Counseling and Confidential Testing in HIV/AIDS Patients Referred to Behavioral Center in lmam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and aims: Behavioral counseling centers are the main health organizations whichare responsible for providing treatment and care for the patients living with HIV (PLWH). HIVpositivepatients receive services through a unique counseling process called voluntary counselingand confidential testing (VCCT). Although there are reports regarding VCCT evaluation from othercountries, not such an evaluation was found in Iran until this study, to the best of our knowledge. Thestudy was performed to fulfill this necessity.Methods: Using consecutive method sampling, 314 subjects were sampled from the patients referredto Behavioral Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini hospital, Tehran, Iran. A combination of processand output evaluation of VCCT was performed in the biggest Behavioral Counseling Center of Iran atImam Khomeini hospital, Tehran, Iran. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentagesand averages).Results: Participants’ response rate was 95.54%. Two shortcomings were found in the counselingprocess. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient for this scale was 0.899, which was a desirablereliability for the questionnaire. As the main finding of the study, 48.33% of patients were not usingantiretroviral medications regularly. An average number of patients (2.88) had HIV related stigma andfear of disclosure. In a quantitative study before testing in the study, it has been found that HIV patientsdid not have adequate information about their disease.Conclusion: Defects in the consultation process for the patients with HIV infection in the hospital wereconcluded. The quantity of consulting services for patients was in low level; therefore it is essential toimprove consulting services for health promotion of the HIV patients.