'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients

© 2017 La Trobe University. This study explored opt-out HIV testing in an Australian general practice. The aims were to: (1) determine the effect of the opt-out approach on the number of HIV tests performed; and (2) explore the acceptability of opt-out HIV testing from the healthcare providers'...

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Main Authors: Leidel, S., Leslie, G., Boldy, Duncan, Davies, A., Girdler, Sonya
Format: Journal Article
Published: C S I R O Publishing 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54799
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author Leidel, S.
Leslie, G.
Boldy, Duncan
Davies, A.
Girdler, Sonya
author_facet Leidel, S.
Leslie, G.
Boldy, Duncan
Davies, A.
Girdler, Sonya
author_sort Leidel, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017 La Trobe University. This study explored opt-out HIV testing in an Australian general practice. The aims were to: (1) determine the effect of the opt-out approach on the number of HIV tests performed; and (2) explore the acceptability of opt-out HIV testing from the healthcare providers' perspective. A prospective mixed-methods study of opt-out HIV testing over a 2-year period (March 2014-March 2016) was conducted. Implementation was based on a theoretical framework that was developed specifically for this study. The setting was Homeless Healthcare, a health service in Perth, Western Australia. The number of HIV tests conducted during the control year (usual practice) was compared with the intervention year (opt-out testing). After the intervention, the healthcare providers (n=8) were interviewed about their experiences with opt-out HIV testing. Directed content analysis was used to explore the qualitative data. HIV testing rates were low during both the control year and the intervention year (315 HIV tests (12% of the patient cohort) and 344 HIV tests (10%) respectively). Opt-out HIV testing was feasible and acceptable to the participating healthcare providers. Other health services could consider opt-out HIV testing for their patients to identify people with undiagnosed infections and sustain Australia's low HIV prevalence.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-547992017-09-13T15:50:06Z 'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients Leidel, S. Leslie, G. Boldy, Duncan Davies, A. Girdler, Sonya © 2017 La Trobe University. This study explored opt-out HIV testing in an Australian general practice. The aims were to: (1) determine the effect of the opt-out approach on the number of HIV tests performed; and (2) explore the acceptability of opt-out HIV testing from the healthcare providers' perspective. A prospective mixed-methods study of opt-out HIV testing over a 2-year period (March 2014-March 2016) was conducted. Implementation was based on a theoretical framework that was developed specifically for this study. The setting was Homeless Healthcare, a health service in Perth, Western Australia. The number of HIV tests conducted during the control year (usual practice) was compared with the intervention year (opt-out testing). After the intervention, the healthcare providers (n=8) were interviewed about their experiences with opt-out HIV testing. Directed content analysis was used to explore the qualitative data. HIV testing rates were low during both the control year and the intervention year (315 HIV tests (12% of the patient cohort) and 344 HIV tests (10%) respectively). Opt-out HIV testing was feasible and acceptable to the participating healthcare providers. Other health services could consider opt-out HIV testing for their patients to identify people with undiagnosed infections and sustain Australia's low HIV prevalence. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54799 10.1071/PY16120 C S I R O Publishing unknown
spellingShingle Leidel, S.
Leslie, G.
Boldy, Duncan
Davies, A.
Girdler, Sonya
'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients
title 'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients
title_full 'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients
title_fullStr 'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients
title_full_unstemmed 'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients
title_short 'We didn't have to dance around it': Opt-out HIV testing among homeless and marginalised patients
title_sort 'we didn't have to dance around it': opt-out hiv testing among homeless and marginalised patients
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54799