Abstract
Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) is still in its infancy in South Africa, and although the necessary infrastructure in terms of clinics and hospitals exists, a VCT culture is not yet established in the country. The purpose of this study was to determine the needs, attitudes and beliefs of a sample of South Africans towards VCT, and to investigate possible barriers affecting participation in VCT programs in South Africa. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to survey the views of 1422 people. Results indicate that while subjects were not opposed to VCT in principle, 33% would go to clinics where nobody would know them. The following problems with VCT services were mentioned: Logistical problems (not enough counsellors, long lines, lack of privacy); no trust in the health care system or fearing a breach of confidentiality; fear of rejection; and a lack of follow-up support after diagnosis. Suggestions are made on how to improve VCT services in South Africa.
Highlights
Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) is still in its in fancy in South Africa (SA), and there are many challenges as well as opportunities facing the health services in the country
Students, who were enrolled for an HIV/AIDS care and coun selling course at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 2001, were used as field workers to collect the data for this study as part of a voluntary assignment
Of the subjects who participated in the study, 41.8% (n=591) said that they knew somebody with HIV infection or AIDS; 12.4% thought that they knew somebody with HIV infection or AIDS but were not sure, and 45.8% said that they did not know anybody who was HIV positive
Summary
Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) is still in its in fancy in South Africa (SA), and there are many challenges as well as opportunities facing the health services in the country. The necessary infrastructure in terms of clinics and hospitals exists, and even though it is one of the top priorities in the Government’s 5-year HIV/AIDS plan, a VCT culture is not yet established in South Africa. VCT programmes often experience problems and barriers which limit their successful implementation. The purpose of this study was to inves tigate the possible service-related barriers that may hinder par ticipation in VCT programs in South Africa. A brief literature and research overview of VCT services in South Africa, and other sub-Saharan African countries, follows
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