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Feasibility and acceptability of offering rapid HIV tests to patients registering with primary care in London (UK): a pilot study
  1. A Prost1,2,
  2. C J Griffiths3,
  3. J Anderson4,
  4. D Wight1,
  5. G J Hart5
  1. 1
    MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow, UK
  2. 2
    Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
  3. 3
    Centre for Health Sciences, Barts and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK
  4. 4
    Centre for the Study of Sexual Health and HIV, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
  5. 5
    Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, London, UK
  1. Dr A Prost, Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1 2AN, UK; Audrey.prost{at}ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

Objective: To assess the acceptability and feasibility of offering rapid HIV tests to patients registering with primary care in London, UK.

Methods: All Anglophone and Francophone patients aged between 18 and 55 years attending a large inner city general practice in London for a new patient health check were recruited. All eligible patients were offered a rapid HIV test on oral fluid and asked to participate in a qualitative interview. The uptake of rapid HIV testing among participants was measured and semistructured interviews were carried out focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of testing for HIV in primary care.

Results: 111 people attended the health check, of whom 85 were eligible, 47 took part in the study and 20 completed qualitative interviews. Nearly half of eligible participants (38/85, 45%) accepted a rapid HIV test. The main reason for accepting a test was because it was offered as “part of a check up”. As a combined group, black African and black Caribbean patients were more likely to test in the study compared with patients from other ethnic backgrounds (p = 0.014). Participants in the qualitative interviews felt that having rapid HIV tests available in general practice was acceptable but expressed concerns about support for the newly diagnosed.

Conclusions: Offering patients a rapid HIV test in primary care is feasible and could be an effective means to increase testing rates in this setting. A larger descriptive study or pragmatic trial is needed to determine whether this strategy could increase timely diagnosis and reduce the proportion of undiagnosed HIV infections in the UK.

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Footnotes

  • Funding: The UK Medical Research Council funded and sponsored this study.

  • Competing interests: None.

  • Ethics approval: This study was approved by Redbridge and Waltham Forest Local Research Ethics Committee.

  • Patient consent: Obtained.

  • Contributors: AP designed and carried out the study. CJG, DW and GJH supervised the study. JA provided specialist HIV clinical input. All authors read and commented on drafts of this publication. AP is guarantor for the study.

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