Focus on community HIV testing
Whenever Paula Muzirikani was approached by an outreach worker and asked about taking an HIV test, she would say: "I'll go - when I get the time" - until one day she fell seriously ill and had to be admitted at Charing Cross Hospital. A serious fever and sore throat left her bed-ridden for four days. On the fifth day, she felt well enough to phone the outreach worker. "I wish I'd taken your advice and visited the clinic. I'm calling from the hospital; I have been badly off for a few days and, guess what, I've taken the test from here. I'm positive!"
Paula's experience is not uncommon among the African community. An estimated three out of every 10 Africans with HIV do not know they have the infection because they have not been tested. Also, four out of every ten Africans with HIV get tested late - often after they have fallen ill.
Getting more Africans to test for HIV has become a priority for health planners. In west London, the African Communities Project (ACP) of NHS Hammersmith and Fulham has been running a community HIV testing programme targeting African and African Caribbean people who live in west London. Called 'Know 4 Sure', the programme involves a team of outreach workers who go out into the African community to engage individuals in the discussions of sexual health and HIV. The discussions are structured in such a way as to encourage people to go for an HIV test at a local clinic.
The outreach workers operate at various locations across the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, as well as in neighbouring areas. Clients are given not just basic information about HIV and other common sexually transmitted infections, but they also get advice on where they might go for tests. The outreach workers offer to accompany a client to the clinic, should this is requested. Often, having an outreach worker around helps give the client the confidence and motivation to go through with the test procedure. Although clients have the option of visiting a clinic of their choice, the Know4Sure has specially designated testing centres at White City and at the Naz Project in Westminster. The service is run every Wednesday and Friday of the week.
Feedback from the outreach workers suggests that people from the African community still have many issues with HIV testing. These include: Not knowing where they can go for tests; being afraid they might be seen going into the clinic; worries about confidentiality, and fears about not being able to cope should the result turn out to be positive.
Know4Sure is being delivered alongside ‘Love Safely’, another HIV prevention initiative targeting African communities in west London. It is run by the West London African HIV Prevention Partnership (WLAHPP), a group of African charities. Both projects are funded by NHS Hammersmith and Fulham and NHS Ealing, and managed by ACP.
According to Stella Oryang, a Health Improvement Manager at ACP, Know4Sure is helping to improve access to HIV testing by Africans in west London. In the 12 months to April 2009, a total of 192 clients were referred to the White City clinic; this is more than double the 72 people who visited between June 2007, when the project was launched, and March 2008.
“We expect more people to seek testing now that we have increased the number of outreach workers,” she said.
Why you should test for HIV?
There are real benefits in knowing your HIV status, whether you are infected or not. The benefits include:
If you are negative:
- You will have a stronger reason to remain free of the virus;
- It might help you to decided whether to have baby;
- You will better plan for your future and that of any dependants;
- If your partner is also negative, you may not need to use condoms every time you have sex.
If you are positive:
- Finding out that you have HIV will give you the opportunity to discuss about treatment and support services with your doctor;
- With proper treatment, an adult aged 35 can now expect to live well into the 70s;
- You will be able to make better plans for you and your family;
- If you want to have a baby, you can discuss with your doctor what precautions to take in order to cut the HIV transmission risk to the baby;
- Information about your test result will not be given to your GP or any other person without your knowledge and permission (although a court may ask your doctor to reveal the information if required);
- Nowadays, HIV tests take much less time than before; results can come out within an hour, meaning you won’t have to spend a long time at the clinic.
For more information about Know4Sure project, please call ACP on 020 8749 9814. Other HIV testing services available in west London include:
West London Centre for Sexual Health: text ‘WLC appt’ to 0778 6201816
African AIDS Helpline 0800 0967500
THT Lighthouse West London tel. 020 7229 1258
THT Direct 0845 1221 200.
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HIV today and needle sharing
Dental Roseville
11 Feb 2010 09:13
The spread of HIV by exposure to infected blood usually results from sharing needles, as in those used for illicit drugs. HIV also can be spread by sharing needles for anabolic steroids to increase muscle, tattooing, and body piercing. To prevent the spread of HIV, as well as other diseases including hepatitis, needles should never be shared. At the beginning of the HIV epidemic, many individuals acquired HIV infection from blood transfusions or blood products, such as those used for hemophiliacs. Currently, however, because blood is tested for both antibodies to HIV and the actual virus before transfusion, the risk of acquiring HIV from a blood transfusion in the United States is extremely small and is considered insignificant.