Willingness to Know about Human Immunodeficiency Virus Status in Healthcare Personnel and General Public at a Tertiary Healthcare Centre, North Bangalore, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: India is a country with a high Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence rate. To accomplish the target of UNAIDS 95-95-95 by 2030, individuals should know their HIV status to achieve the first 95, which means 95% of Persons Living With HIV (PLWH) worldwide should know their diagnosis, for which testing is a must. Aim: To know the willingness for HIV infection testing among Healthcare Personnel (HCP) and the General Public (GP). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Science & Research Centre, North Bangalore, Karnataka, India between June 2019 and September 2019. Convenient sampling was done which included 200 subjects (100 HCP and 100 GP). Demographic data such as name, age, sex, address, education status, occupation, and habits were collected, followed by knowing their willingness to get tested for HIV along with the barriers for not being willing to undergo the HIV test. Tests were performed following the standard National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) guidelines for those subjects who were willing to know their HIV status. The statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0, and the results were expressed in the form of frequency or percentage. Results: Among the 200 subjects who consented to participate in this study, only 39 HCPs (39%) and two GPs (2%) were willing to get tested in order to know their HIV status. Among the 41 individuals who got tested according to NACO guidelines, none tested positive for HIV. The barriers for not being willing to know their HIV status among the 61 HCPs were “it’s not a necessary test” 56 (91.8%), and the remaining 5 (8.2%) stated that the test was not necessary after 50 years of age. Among the 98 GPs, the barriers were “no symptoms or health problems” as cited by 35 (35.8%), followed by “will get tested only on doctor’s advice” 27 (27.6%), and other factors. Conclusion: In this study, the willingness to know their HIV status was found to be very low, especially among GPs, and less than 50% among HCPs. The barriers for not being willing to know their HIV status raise concerns for policymakers to reformulate policies in order to achieve the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) target of 95-95-95 by 2030