HIV home tests a positive step

By Hannah Leung Source:Global Times Published: 2012-11-28 19:55:05

Metro Beijing reported Tuesday that a local NGO offered 200 free HIV home test kits to allow people to check their status in the privacy of their own homes. While I support this move and similar ones taken by health organizations in the lead up to World AIDS Day on December 1, I hope that the focus remains on encouraging the formal, anonymous testing for HIV at free walk-in clinics.

Such clinics are common in the US and do not require people to have insurance or show ID.

Theoretically, such free and anonymous centers also exist in China. But so many locals are plagued by a culture of shame and a fear of discovery that they are driven into secrecy about all aspects of the matter, from prevention and screening to treatment.

Self-administrated tests are a useful way to ensure privacy, but they are not 100 percent accurate.

For example, the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, the first over-the-counter self-test kit for the virus approved in the US in early July, offers 92 percent accuracy. A follow-up examination is thus always encouraged. 

In addition to these tests being dispersed in the future, people should be able to schedule a proper consultation as the next step, visit any health clinic in Beijing, get tested and obtain results either through e-mail or in person.

There are supposed benefits to getting tested for HIV in China, such as subsidized or free follow-up treatment.

But many people are deterred from being tested due to the risk of being discovered or having family members secretly notified. This is particularly the case if patients are required to show ID.

Deep-seated fear of social and professional isolation coupled with discrimination by hospitals persuades many to decline seeking treatment.

Regarding the latter, a man earlier this month was denied treatment for cancer from a hospital in Tianjin. Though all hospitals in China are required to offer the same treatment as they provide to non HIV/AIDS patients, discrimination remains widespread.  

How is it possible for people living with HIV/AIDS to trust a health system that often does not deliver the care it promises and is legally required to give?

Despite safe sex public awareness campaigns, it's alarming how few people have any idea how HIV is transmitted or how to protect themselves.

Marginalized groups, such as homosexuals, must hide behind a cloud of secrecy, as their sexuality also draws discrimination. Professionally, those infected may have trouble finding employment or maintaining their current job if they are discovered to be HIV-positive. 

Self-administrated HIV tests have many benefits and should be spread widely, but it's worth remembering people living with the virus already have to do many things behind closed doors. It's time for a fairer system and greater tolerance.



Posted in: Fitness, Twocents-Opinion

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