Evaluation of Patient Perspectives on Routine HIV Screening in Health Care Settings
Research Project
In collaboration with investigators at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, we are developing and pilot testing a set of evaluation tools for use by clinical sites implementing routine HIV screening in primary care settings in accord with updated guidelines released by the CDC in 2006. The tools will help staff in these settings to assess:
Patient and provider preferences
Satisfaction and attitudes with respect to CDC recommended practice, including opt-out screening
Patients’ perceptions of their ability to decline testing
Sufficiency and effectiveness of methods used to impart information prior to testing
Acceptability of different methods for providing test results Development of the patient assessment tool has been accomplished in two steps.
In the first, we conducted interviews with patients who were routinely tested for HIV in the Kansas City Free Clinic. Results from the first phase were used to develop a quantitative assessment of patient attitudes, reactions and acceptance of new models for HIV screening and prevention and their outcomes in terms of patient care. In the second step, this assessment will be validated through administration to as many as 450 patients seen in three sites nationally, one emergency room and two primary care settings (one seeing primarily privately insured patients, the other publicly-insured ones). The provider tool was developed and tested at San Francisco General Hospital. Findings from this project will be collected in a toolkit of clinical evaluation instruments and protocols for assessing patient experiences and outcomes associated with the enhanced screening projects. The toolkit will be disseminated through tailored technical assistance provided through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) AIDS Education and Training Centers program.
