Browsing by Author "Nawavvu, Cecilia"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Acceptability of routine HIV counselling and testing, and HIV seroprevalence in Ugandan hospitals
    (World Health Organization, 2008) Wanyenze, Rhoda K.; Nawavvu, Cecilia; Namale, Alice S.; Mayanja, Bernard; Bunnell, Rebecca; Abang, Betty; Amanyire, Gideon; Kamyaa, Moses R.; Sewankambo, Nelson K. S.
    Mulago and Mbarara hospitals are large tertiary hospitals in Uganda with a high HIV/AIDS burden. Until recently, HIV testing was available only upon request and payment. From November 2004, routine free HIV testing and counselling has been offered to improve testing coverage and the clinical management of patients. All patients in participating units who had not previously tested HIV-positive were offered HIV testing. Family members of patients seen at the hospitals were also offered testing. Methods Data collected at the 25 participating wards and clinics between 1 November 2004 and 28 February 2006 were analysed to determine the uptake rate of testing and the HIV seroprevalence among patients and their family members. Findings Of the 51 642 patients offered HIV testing, 50 649 (98%) accepted. In those who had not previously tested HIV-positive, the overall HIV prevalence was 25%, with 81% being tested for the first time. The highest prevalence was found in medical inpatients (35%) and the lowest, in surgical inpatients (12%). The prevalence of HIV was 28% in the 39 037 patients who had never been tested before and 9% in those who had previously tested negative. Of the 10 439 family members offered testing, 9720 (93%) accepted. The prevalence in family members was 20%. Among 1213 couples tested, 224 (19%) had a discordant HIV status. Conclusion In two large Ugandan hospitals, routine HIV testing and counselling was highly acceptable and identified many previously undiagnosed HIV infections and HIV-discordant partnerships among patients and their family members.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Provider-initiated HIV testing for paediatric inpatients and their caretakers is feasible and acceptable
    (Tropical Medicine & International Health, 2019) Wanyenze, Rhoda K.; Nawavvu, Cecilia; Ouma, Joseph; Namale, Alice; Colebunders, Robert; Kamya, Moses R.
    Early diagnosis of HIV-infected children remains a major challenge in Africa. Children who are hospitalised represent an opportunity for HIV diagnosis and appropriate treatment. We introduced HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) for hospitalised children and their caretakers in Mulago teaching hospital in Uganda to assess its feasibility. methods We analysed routine program data for children and caretakers who were tested between February 2005 and February 2008 to assess the proportion of children and caretakers who were HIV- infected. We also assessed the level of immune suppression (CD4 percentage) in a subset of HIV infected children tested between January 2007 and December 2007. results Caretakers agreed to HIV testing for 8990 (92.8%) of the 9687 children who were offered HIV testing. Among the caretakers, 89.8% agreed to be tested. At the time of hospitalization, 41.3% of the caretakers had previously tested for HIV. Although 313 parents (mothers and fathers) reported that they had previously tested HIV positive, only 113 (36.3%) of these had tested their children prior to hospitalization. Overall HIV prevalence among caretakers was 16.7%. HIV prevalence among children was 12.4%, highest on the nutrition ward (30.8%). Of those children who underwent CD4 counts, 56.4% had a CD4 percentage of <20%. conclusion HCT for hospitalized children and their caretakers identified a significant number of HIV infected children and caretakers. More than half of the children had advanced HIV disease. More intensive efforts are needed to ensure earlier diagnosis and linkage to care for HIV infected children.