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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Nicola Christofides, MPH, Rollins School of Public Health, Center for AIDS Research, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, 404 667 1457, njchris@emory.edu, Rachel K. Jewkes, MBBS, MSc, MD, Gender and Health Research Group, Medical Research Council, 1 Soutpansberg Road, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa, and Claire Mooideen, RN, Unversity of Witwatersrand, Reproductive Health Research Unit, 32 Esselen Street, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a potentially important risk factor for HIV. Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV may offer an opportunity to screen for IPV, and reduce women's risk. This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of screening for IPV in a VCT service. Methods: We trained counselors at a public VCT service in Johannesburg to incorporate IPV screening into all pre-test counseling sessions. We conducted in-depth interviews with 35 women attending the service; all were recruited prior to pre-test counseling and interviewed after post-test. Women who disclosed violence were re-interviewed two weeks later. Taped interviews were transcribed for thematic analysis. Findings: Preliminary findings suggest that VCT counselors sometimes failed to ask about violence, raising questions about strategies for supporting implementation. All women reported that the experience of VCT was stressful, but most cited anxiety about finding out their HIV status. A few women reported being pressured to attend VCT by a partner or family member, affirming the importance of discussing coercion in VCT settings. Several women reported violence to the interviewer that they did not disclose to the counselor. In follow-up interviews, some women reported taking action regarding IPV, including asking the partner to leave and contacting a NGO. Conclusions: Screening for IPV in VCT services was highly acceptable to women. Individual counselors' skills and abilities seem more important than the gender of the counselor. Integrating explicit screening for violence into VCT services is worthy of broader exploration.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Articlulate the rationale for including IPV screening VCT for HIV;
• Describe women's experiences of being screened for IPV in the context of VCT;
• List three challenges to implementing IPV screening in the context of HIV.

Keywords: Violence, Women and HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation