Bazazi, Alexander R. and Vijay, Aishwarya and Crawford, Forrest W. and Heimer, Robert and Kamarulzaman, Adeeba and Altice, Frederick L. (2018) HIV Testing and awareness of HIV status among people who inject drugs in greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AIDS Care, 30 (1). pp. 59-64. ISSN 0954-0121, DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1363852.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
HIV testing services are the gateway into HIV treatment and are critical for monitoring the epidemic. HIV testing is recommended at least annually in high-risk populations, including people who inject drugs (PWID). In Malaysia, the HIV epidemic is concentrated among PWID, but their adherence to testing recommendations and the proportion of HIV-positive PWID who are aware of their status remain unknown. We recruited 460 PWID in Greater Kuala Lumpur using respondent-driven sampling and conducted HIV testing. We examined past testing behaviors, estimating testing frequency, correlates of testing in the past 12 months, and the proportion of those living with HIV who were aware of their status. Results showed that most PWID living with HIV (90.4%, 95% CI: 83.6%–95.9%) were aware of their status. Among those never previously diagnosed with HIV, few had accessed HIV testing in the past 12 months (14.3%, 95% CI: 11.1%–18.0%). Prison (57.0%) and compulsory drug detention centers (36.1%) were the primary locations where PWID reported ever being HIV tested, and the main correlate of recent testing in regression was recent criminal justice involvement. Although awareness of HIV status may be high among PWID living with HIV in Kuala Lumpur, testing occurs primarily in prisons and compulsory drug detention centers, where it is involuntary and linkage to care is limited. A shift in HIV testing policy is needed to align health and human rights objectives, replacing mandatory testing with voluntary testing in settings where individuals can be rapidly linked to HIV care.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | HIV testing; people who inject drugs; Malaysia; HIV treatment cascade |
| Subjects: | R Medicine |
| Divisions: | Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA) |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Sep 2019 03:43 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Sep 2019 03:43 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/22331 |
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